


Irresistible

by coley_merrin



Category: Super Junior-M
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, M/M, References to issues of consent (not in fic itself), Smut, fictional drug use, fictional drug withdrawal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-10
Updated: 2014-04-06
Packaged: 2021-03-17 13:22:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 94,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29967033
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coley_merrin/pseuds/coley_merrin
Summary: The streets of Zhou Mi's city are being contaminated with a new drug - Euphoria.  Pure vampire blood, it causes a high unlike any other, but when the high fades, the nightmares begin. It is the spread of Euphoria that Zhou Mi fights, and in that fight he needs a partner to get him to places and people that only a vampire can.
Relationships: Zhou Mi/Kyuhyun
Comments: 1
Kudos: 3





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic does include side effects of fictional drug use (observation in others, unwanted ingestion, etc) including withdrawal, death (to unnamed others), etc. Just as a heads up in case.

[Original art inspiration](https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/coley_merrin/1026051/32969/32969_900.png)

***

_The screams._

That was what assaulted Zhou Mi first. Not the dark walls, stained and peeling. The acrid scent of urine, and sharp lye.

No. The screams.

Men and women in poorly constructed beds, some restrained, others unconscious. Some spoke, and moaned, and mumbled. Others pleaded, and yes, the loud desperate screeches that made his skin crawl. There was fear in those sounds, a haunting echo of whatever terrors chased the people through their waking, and sleeping dreams. The sound echoed down the halls and open rooms of the converted old house.

“They want more,” the doctor said. “They are both begging for the euphoria of their chosen drug, and driven mad with it, and without it. That’s what we call it. Euphoria.”

Zhou Mi stood in the hall and watched as a man younger than himself was sedated and calmed, from where he had been struggling, eyes bulging. It took four men to hold him down, and another to send him to stupor. The scent of vomit and waste followed the men as they filed past to help another patient, and Zhou Mi turned his head, breathing carefully.

“I had no idea,” Zhou Mi said, his teeth clenched.

“Most people don’t,” the doctor said. “The Euphoria brings nightmares that we can’t calm. Some of them we keep sedated, hoping they’ll be able mend themselves given time. But most of them are like this man here. If they wake, they scream, drool, cry. Most will never leave this sanitarium alive. You see why we need your help.”

“Yes. This can’t continue,” Zhou Mi agreed.

It was emotional blackmail, that much was true. No one, with a heart, could see those people and not want to help them. Maybe there was nothing he could do to cure them, but maybe, just possibly, he could do something to save others before they were sickened by what the doctors and investigators were calling Euphoria.

Vampire blood.

***

The human was brought to the library, lit with gas lamps, and overhead electricity. It wasn’t often he had unexpected callers, much less ones that dressed like the man in front of him. Zhou Mi, the card read, and Kyuhyun let his eyes skim from the highly polished black boots, right up to the elegant knot at Zhou Mi’s throat, wire-rimmed glasses, and the finely cut hair. Dressed in riding breeches and embellished jacket, he held a hat in the same hand with what looked like soft leather gloves.

Whoever his tailor was, he was earning his dues. But the human’s clothes were of less concern to him than his purpose for calling. Dressed for riding, after dark, it could be no little thing that brought a man of some status to his doorstep. It puzzled him, though the man’s quiet face gave no hint. Undisturbed to be there, that much was clear.

Even so, Kyuhyun wasn’t worried, standing to greet his guest. Humans could be subdued with a touch, a whisper. Compliant, and at times almost eager, they fell to the thrall that had kept him in sustenance all his life. It was how vampires did their business in the world. No matter what this Zhou Mi wanted from him, he would find his way around it, as he always had.

Or so he thought, waiting for the man to introduce himself.

“Mr. Cho. My name is Zhou Mi. I’m sorry to disturb you without any notice, but I could not wait.”

“You may call me Kyuhyun. It’s a little late to be making social calls.”

Zhou Mi nodded, acknowledging his point. “Perhaps, for me, since I’m human. But I knew you would be awake, and didn’t want to chance missing you.”

So Zhou Mi knew who, and what he was, Kyuhyun thought. That made the visit even more interesting. Not many humans wandered of their own volition into a vampire’s home, and those that did were usually there only for one purpose. Which was over-generalizing just a bit, but the number of times a human had come to him for reasons unrelated to feeding, he could count on one hand. And most of those times had been lawyers. A different breed of blood suckers.

“You have found me, then. Mr. Zhou, is it? What do you need.”

“Zhou Mi, please,” Zhou Mi said. “Thank you for taking a moment to hear me out. I am part of a group of people working to reduce suffering. Specifically, have you heard of the practice of ingesting vampire blood?”

Maybe most humans hadn’t heard of the practice, but the vampire underground had been buzzing about it for months. It was at first more of a joke, sort of a prey eating the hunter sort of situation. But as reports of addiction, loss of function, began to swirl, it was too much to make light of. The only way a vampire couldn’t have heard of the situation would have been if the vampire were dead.

And it wasn’t even meant ironically.

“I have heard,” Kyuhyun said. “Are you here to interrogate me, or here for my help?”

“I hope for your help. I have papers here, for you to read.”

So earnest, he thought, taking the papers from Zhou Mi’s hand. But Kyuhyun wanted the rest of the conversation to be on his terms. If Zhou Mi started asking questions or making demands, Kyuhyun could temper them, and make things easier on himself. He didn’t wonder that humans were catching on to the dangers eating what was killing them. It was strictly a one-way food chain, and he stepped closer. Too close by far, by society’s standards.

“So we’ll talk. But you will do exactly as I ask,” Kyuhyun said, his fingers skimming the edge of Zhou Mi’s jaw. Just enough of a touch to matter. That was all it took for any human he’d encountered.

“Why would I do that?”

Kyuhyun looked up, studying him. No blown pupils, just vague curiosity to go with the question that Kyuhyun had asked, as though Kyuhyun had asked him to stand on one foot. The lack of acceptance made one thing perfectly clear.

Zhou Mi wasn’t in thrall.

Curious. On the contrary, Zhou Mi seemed to be studying _Kyuhyun’s_ reaction to him. It made him uncomfortable to be the subject, and he stepped back. Distance, as though he was the one in danger of falling under Zhou Mi’s command, instead of the other way around.

That movement had Zhou Mi’s lips curving. “It’s all right. You’re not the first vampire to be surprised by that. I confess, it’s amusing when I am found out.”

“You aren’t… You don’t…?”

Not even Kyuhyun’s tongue was working.

“Thrall has no effect on me. Very little, if any, with some. I’m immune, though I don’t know why.”

“I’ve heard of humans like that, of course, but— That is hardly normal.”

“You’re right,” Zhou Mi agreed. “I’ve heard other vampires describe it as if a dog talked back to you after you asked it to sit.”

Kyuhyun could tell when he was being made fun of. Maybe it was well-deserved, but it had him taking Zhou Mi’s measure. Not the pliant human he’d initially thought, but more hidden in those eyes than he could discern. He thought of Zhou Mi’s purpose, and nodded.

“I see why they sent you to me, then. Someone I could not manipulate.”

“That could have been part of the thought,” Zhou Mi said, grinning. But his expression sobered when he gestured back to the papers he’d put into Kyuhyun’s hand. “While this is amusing, this black market selling is not. People are being injured, driven insane. Not from the temporary euphoria, but from the waking nightmares that follow.”

“I’m not ignorant of what’s happening. Everyone hears whispers. Sit, please,” he offered, and when Zhou Mi took one of the library chairs, he took one directly opposite. Close enough to see every expression on Zhou Mi’s face. “Given that I’m not contributing my blood to this horror, I’m curious what help you think I could be.”

“Have you been approached by anyone to contribute?”

Kyuhyun shook his head. Maybe he wasn’t a vampire of the highest standing, but he knew of more that hadn’t been approached either. It wasn’t a matter of money or morals, but demand. If the humans were getting as much blood as they needed, there was no need to branch out. “I imagine I would attract suspicion if I tried to offer, as well. Unless they believed I was that sadistic. What do they offer the vampires that give their blood?”

Zhou Mi hesitated. “A source of feeding, is one theory we have. If the humans lose their wits, or are in stages of it, then they are ready to be taken. But we don’t really know. Whether they mean to start small, create a stir and expand…? They have to be stopped.”

“That goes back to my original question. What help you think I’ll be.”

At the very least, Kyuhyun had found his bearings again. He leaned back in his chair and felt so much more in control. It was like speaking to another vampire, except he knew very much that wasn’t the case.

“We hope that you might keep your eyes and ears open,” Zhou Mi said. “There are people I cannot speak to, vampires who will only speak to other vampires.”

“How elitist of them,” Kyuhyun drawled, and Zhou Mi’s eyes twinkled in understanding. Much like the humans who wouldn’t speak to vampires. There were those of both kinds. “So you expect me to spy, and possibly go where your prying human fingers cannot. And in return?”

It was a delicate balance. Maybe it was mercenary, but it was as well known as giving money to buy bread. A vampire’s favor wasn’t curried, a vampire’s help wasn’t obtained, unless something was given in return. The simplest of transactions, really. A vampire couldn’t stroll down the sunny street and pick up a leg of mutton, or basket of fruit. So they had learned to survive, getting what they could. And that meant nothing came free.

It seemed Zhou Mi relaxed as well, the stiff set of his shoulders going lax. Perhaps he thought that if they had gotten to the bartering phase, then Kyuhyun hadn’t refused him outright. Kyuhyun, however, was still uncertain. How worth his while it was going to be, on one hand. It wasn’t that Zhou Mi’s goal was a bad one. This Euphoria plague was tampering with the pool of Kyuhyun’s food sources, and possibly turning what seemed an increasingly dull-witted public against those vampires whose only goals were to feed and sleep. And perhaps seek a little debauchery.

“I’m prepared to offer you compensation,” Zhou Mi confirmed, reaching into his exceedingly fine jacket to pull out an envelope.

Money, perhaps. Probably a tidy sum, as well. Zhou Mi had come well-prepared. But it wasn’t the money that interested him, but the man holding it.

“How long have you know you were resistant to thrall?” Kyuhyun asked, not reaching to take the envelope. The paper ended up balanced on Zhou Mi’s knee as Kyuhyun was considered.

“For as long as I’ve had interactions with vampires,” Zhou Mi told him. “In the clubs, I’ve been approached, but it’s always a surprise to them when I don’t respond.”

Yes, that was what he thought. His eyes flicked down to Zhou Mi’s boots, the angles of his wrist, his throat. Not even realizing at first, that his breathing had quickened, fingers tight on the arms of the chair as he stared at Zhou Mi, and that his voice was rougher than he meant.

“So you’ve never been bitten?”

“No, but that doesn’t—“

“Is that money you’re trying to offer me?” Kyuhyun asked. He didn’t care that he had interrupted Zhou Mi, when there had been nothing but platitudes that could have come after.

That, Zhou Mi grasped at. “If the amount isn’t enough, we have stocks that could be offered. Properties. I have some leeway in the negotiation, as long as you are fair.”

A warning not to ask for too much, and Kyuhyun grinned. He wasn’t sure if his request was too much or not, but it was the only thing he wanted. He needed to know. Needed it more than any money or property could satisfy.

“I have money, and stocks, and properties. You can negotiate well, because you aren’t susceptible to the thrall. But there is only one thing that could tempt me to help you,” Kyuhyun said, leaning forward, his eyes on Zhou Mi’s. “I would bite you.”

***

Zhou Mi had been prepared for anything. He had lists of properties in his head, investments, referrals. He even had a second bank note, for an equal amount as the one in the envelope if he had to double his offer. He’d been told about, and had experience with, vampires that were shrewd negotiators. It was why his skills were in demand, because he could negotiate without potentially falling into thrall and offering more than was fair. Of course, most vampires would deal fairly, thrall or not, but for those that were unfamiliar, humans like Zhou Mi were invaluable. He’d even gotten used to it, as long as there wasn’t much confrontation involved. He could stand up for himself when he had to, but there was no reason being polite couldn’t get him results.

Though it helped that most vampires didn’t respond well to threats. Cajoling and a smile helped ease things along.

But no matter what he’d negotiated, and what he’d come in prepared to offer, having himself thrown out as a option had not been in his expectations. And Kyuhyun was watching him, like a big cat watching to see which way his next meal would spring. How appropriate. There had to be a way that he could turn Kyuhyun down, politely, and still make it seem like it was Kyuhyun’s idea to go back to the idea of money.

“I have been asked before if I was interested,” Zhou Mi said, starting light and not making it sound like an outright rejection. But his brain wasn’t keeping up with what his hopes were. “Because of my resistance to thrall, most vampires are unwilling to attempt it. We could certainly find someone who hasn’t been bitten for you, in addition to our offer here.”

“I can find my own meals,” Kyuhyun said, crossing his legs and leaning back. A clear rejection. “I’m not asking to bite you and let you go. I want a month contract.”

“I…I— A month?” Zhou Mi floundered, tried to get his mouth back under control. Month contracts were the ideal for the vampires he’d known, whether they got them or not, but that was not what he’d been offered in the past. Strictly a bite, and that was all. Month contracts usually were— “You mean for me to feed you for a month? I— But I’m a man?”

Kyuhyun looked a bit like a child with a new toy, and it didn’t reassure Zhou Mi in the least. “Yes. I know. If the idea of sharing a man’s bed doesn’t appall you, a month is the least I would settle for. There would be no option to test your resistance to thrall in a night. And you would be here, able to read all my correspondence, able to move me to do what you wanted. You would be at my mercy, but I would also be at yours. I’ll help you, but that’s my price.”

Too restless to sit any longer, he stood, and Kyuhyun with him. Appalled wasn’t quite the right word. And Zhou Mi’s face had flushed hot, following all of Kyuhyun’s allusions. To satisfy every hunger, every sexual desire, of a vampire who could be key to helping a lot of people. He wondered if the Organization would give the money allotted to Kyuhyun to Zhou Mi instead, if he put his own body on the line. Vampires didn’t kill humans, not normally, and any potential injury in bed would be consensual.

But it was so much more than that. And it was not a decision he could make without giving it proper thought, weighing the benefits and negatives of the choice. Getting Kyuhyun’s participation was important, but it depended on if the price was worth it.

“May I have time to think about your offer?” Zhou Mi asked, softening his posture, giving a little. “I did hope to show you the sanitarium, the patients there. So that you have a better idea of what we’re working to counter.”

Kyuhyun’s head cocked to the side. “Do you think that showing me the victims in pain would sway me into a lesser offer?”

“I think it would sway you into being determined to help,” Zhou Mi said. “And if one of the other vampires we meet with wants to bite me, too?”

Kyuhyun snagged his wrist. Not hard, not violently, but a surefire way of getting his attention.

“Not when you’re with me. I don’t know what all you know about vampires. But one thing doesn’t change: we don’t share well with others.”

The little titter of nerves. “But you don’t even know if I’ll accept.”

“I offered. That’s enough. If you refuse, that’s something else.”

“But if you won’t accept anything else, how does that allow me to refuse?”

“Then you find another vampire?” Kyuhyun laughed at Zhou Mi’s expression. “No, I’m a vampire, not heartless. I’ll go with you to your sanitarium. But that has a price, too. Give me one night. If you aren’t horrified by it, we’ll consider it the first night of our month contract. If you wish to stop, double what’s in that envelope, and I’ll help how I can.”

It was a better offer than Zhou Mi could have imagined. It still put _himself_ precariously in the mix, and they needed Kyuhyun’s compliance.

“Come back when you have an answer,” Kyuhyun said. “Take as much time as you need.”

He was dismissed as easily as that. No pleasantries or a good evening, just guided to the door. Zhou Mi at least got out his thanks, before the door was closed behind Kyuhyun’s nod.

At least Kyuhyun had given him time to think. Though there was a bit of a mockery in it, since the longer that Zhou Mi waited, the more people might be harmed. He would take the night, think it through. Talk it through with a friend if he had to.

The problem was, as he mounted his horse, that he still didn’t know which way he wanted to respond. Kyuhyun had given him a way out, with the smallest insurance there was - one night. He had never been tempted to accept a vampire’s offer, would have laughed if someone had suggested that he would. He wasn’t susceptible to thrall, and therefore a less desirable source of food. Maybe if he’d been prepared for Kyuhyun’s curiosity, he could have done a better job of shaping the meeting.

And then he thought of the screams, the people in pain, in constant, unstoppable nightmares. The thought of being able to stop that from happening to more people made one night with a vampire seem a small price to pay.

***

Zhou Mi’s sleep was troubled that night. His urge was to find out any information he could on vampire bites, and either ease his mind, or make his decision. The dreams that followed were uncomfortable to wake from, visions of a man against him, cringing from the bite. One was distinctly sexual and left him gasping, and unprepared.

He should have remembered it, the way Kyuhyun’s voice had dropped low when he’d touched Zhou Mi’s face. He’d been trying to ease Zhou Mi into the thrall, but it had left him with tattered defenses hours after. The way Kyuhyun’s eyes had gone wide in anticipation, then shock, then consideration. Maybe he hadn’t expected Kyuhyun to act quite that quickly, but amusement had reigned, then, because he’d been setting up his negotiation. He had no idea that those expressions, Kyuhyun leaning in close, would be used for words Kyuhyun had spoken later.

_“I would bite you.”_

He woke to those words as well, several times during the night. Maybe Kyuhyun hadn’t been able to sink him in the thrall, but he had laid plenty of traps for Zhou Mi’s own mind, his curiosity, to fall into. What was the bite like, what was Kyuhyun like in bed.

Zhou Mi knew what he would be asked by others. What would have made him want to try, to put himself in that position. Just because he had never agreed to a bite in the past didn’t mean that he never could in the future. There were many humans who were curious and became a meal, with far less thought than he was putting to it. But none of them would have had to work closely with that vampire afterward. The worst that could happen was that it hurt, the bite. And if Kyuhyun wanted his body as well, then there were worse things to be had than a night of bad sex. Frankly, it was all the unknowns that discomfited him, more than the things that he was sure of.

If he had accepted any other vampire, it would have been a man. Not that there were no humans who appealed, but ones who were willing were few. And openly to his knowledge, even less. So in that respect, Kyuhyun was exactly as he should be. Maybe Zhou Mi’s curiosity could be sensed. Perhaps that was why Kyuhyun had pressed him, backing down from the month, to the one night. Perhaps it had been his way of testing Zhou Mi’s sincerity and dedication as well. But it was hard to get the make of man or vampire like that. It would be time that would tell him if he respected Kyuhyun for that or not.

Kyuhyun had a young face, at times very still as though his thoughts were consuming him. The dark eyes and sweeping lashes considering him, hair over his eyebrows, and curling at his collar.

He tried to keep those images far away from himself, especially as he reported in and prepared himself to tell of what had happened with Kyuhyun. The small office was off of his supervisor’s library, because they didn’t have the funds to rent an office for their cause. The funds went to vampires, and the humans who helped.

“I spoke with the vampire, Mr. Cho. He seems to recognize what we’re fighting against. But he wasn’t responsive to offers of money or property. He was more interested in acquiring a steady food supply,” Zhou Mi said, telling Daniel, and trying to not reach up to fiddle with his neckcloth.

“I’m sure we can help him finding someone. Doing that is easy enough, if he’s able to help us. Surely we know someone who’d be willing to feed him?”

“That isn’t quite the whole of it. He doesn’t want just any human. He wants me, sir.”

Daniel’s eyebrows rose. “You. He knows you resist thrall?”

“He does. Apparently that interests him. He has, however, made a concession. I can let him bite me once, and if I find it acceptable, I will continue on feeding him for the month. If I wish to stop, he will help us for the whole of the sum of money I took to him.”

“So he wants to feed from you once, or he won’t help us?” Daniel sat back in his chair and frowned. “I know vampires are just as unpredictable as humans, but that seems an arbitrary demand. He could pursue you outside of the work if he desired. It hardly gives you a choice, this way.”

Zhou Mi sighed, and realized he’d found his conclusion even before he’d arrived. “It is still my choice. There are other vampires we could approach, some in his same position, but we’ve already made the connection. I’ll give him his one bite, and see. I’ve never been bitten, so I can decide with a better understanding afterward.”

“You realize that most vampires don’t simply feed from humans.”

It was impossible to meet Daniel’s eyes right then. They both knew Daniel spoke of sex, and that what Zhou Mi wasn’t saying was more telling than what he was.

“I’ll meet with him after he wakes this evening, take him to the sanitarium, and tell him of our agreement.”

“Zhou Mi, I know your dedication to this cause cannot be matched. But you realize that you don’t have to do this. Like you said, there are other vampires. In fact, we can send someone else to Kyuhyun, make him see that he should help without this. Even if they succumb to thrall, they would stand for you.”

“I would stand for them as well. But I will do this. If anything, it will help me understand. And if I choose the month, it will give him a reason to continue helping us. He isn’t without scruples. In an odd way, I trust him. And I’m curious of him as well.”

“I won’t tell you no. Some of our operatives have had relations with vampires, and it has strengthened the help, or broken it. The decision is yours. I hope your meeting goes well.”

When Zhou Mi stood, arranging his hat and making his way out to his carriage, he hoped so, too.

***

With effort, Zhou Mi was able to quiet his mind after eating, sleeping until the sun had gone down. Vampires were ever nocturnal, and he needed his wits. If Kyuhyun wanted the bite to happen that night, then he wanted to be alert for it, and for the sanitarium. When it came down to it, it wasn’t about the biting, it was about helping people. That was something he couldn’t lose sight of.

But Zhou Mi did not move from the servant’s entrance, waiting there for Kyuhyun so they could go immediately. But his hands were tight on his hat, waiting for Kyuhyun to appear. Had he not been watching, he might not have heard Kyuhyun’s footsteps, light and quick, raking Zhou Mi from head to toe with a probing stare. And they considered each other for several moments, before Kyuhyun’s lips quirked. It seemed Zhou Mi showing up was answer enough.

Zhou Mi nodded his greeting. “We should go to the sanitarium before it is too late.”

“Your horse is in the stable?” Kyuhyun asked.

“Yes.”

“Good. Then we’ll go in my carriage.”

“Is it unmarked?”

Zhou Mi asked that question as he followed Kyuhyun back out the door. It wasn’t as though the sanitarium was a secret, but for everyone’s safety, they tried to keep things as quiet as possible. Those who were sick, might keep more from getting sick. But those who fought the ones infecting them, they needed to keep to the shadows. Or risk everything. Kyuhyun just clucked at his caution.

“It doesn’t proclaim that I’m a vampire, if that’s what you’re asking. I understand discretion might be required.”

At least there was that. The carriage was not ostentatious, mostly serviceable, and it protected them from view. Zhou Mi was still in his riding clothes, and Kyuhyun dressed appropriate for the evening in trousers and a jacket. But nothing too fussy. A properly tied neckcloth would have made Kyuhyun look more put-together, but he had a certain charm as he was. Almost like he’d dressed himself to look like he didn’t care. It was perhaps an unconscious choice, and no real concern of Zhou Mi’s.

But he thought he saw Kyuhyun considering him as well, as the carriage bumped along. At that hour of the night, there was nothing to slow them, and the journey was quick. He’d had an entire little speech planned out, to prepare Kyuhyun. But that, like everything else, hadn’t gone quiet as planned.

“Some of them are hard to see, being ill. But we won’t stay long.”

“I know,” Kyuhyun said, nearly interrupting him.

“Dr. Lee is the one who will be showing us around. He is there almost all day treating patients. But you shouldn’t worry, he has no ill-feelings toward vampires.”

“It’ll be fine,” Kyuhyun said, his voice low.

An almost impatience to the words had Zhou Mi’s mouth closing tightly. If Kyuhyun didn’t want the information, then he wouldn’t give it. Perhaps it was a mood, or Kyuhyun lacked patience. But it was no trial to sit in silence, trying to anticipate what they would see, what questions he could answer for Kyuhyun. It was a visit that could create a passion in Kyuhyun to help, if he was able to find sympathy in himself for those who were suffering.

It was not purely a teaching visit. He carried donations in his pocket to keep the sanitarium running. Both reasons were equally as important.

He stepped down out the carriage first, waiting as Kyuhyun told their driver that they would not be long. Zhou Mi had nothing to refute there. Their visit was not to be lengthy. And as sorry as he felt for the people, it was not in him to stay long in any circumstances. It hurt him too much.

The doctor greeted them before they got far, and Zhou Mi took care of the introductions.

“Dr. Lee, this is Cho Kyuhyun. Here to see, and we hope to help going forward. I hoped you could give him a short overview of what you do here.”

“Of course.”

Zhou Mi followed after the introductions, letting the doctor speak to Kyuhyun directly. The most effective way. Through the parts where a couple of patients were beginning to function again, learning to walk. To the areas where those who screamed in terror were housed. Everywhere, no matter how much they cleaned, was the stench of humans. He’d finally learned how to breathe to protect himself from it.

They stopped last, in a small room where the youngest victims were kept. Just teenagers, reduced to crying and thrashing.

“He is thirteen,” the doctor said of one boy. “We are hoping because of his youth that he might have a better chance of recovery. But his nightmares have been the hardest to control, even with heavy sedation.”

Zhou Mi held his breath, as Kyuhyun stepped forward and reached to touch the boy’s face, turning it, to see the bruises left there. Probably from the nightmares, all those markings, and the boy’s face drawn up in fear, even while heavily asleep.

“He still has some of the vampire blood inside of him,” Kyuhyun said. “Have you tried bleeding him? Or better yet, finding a vampire to feed from him. It might stimulate his body to purge itself.”

“It was suggested to us, but finding vampires willing to feed from patients like these is difficult,” the doctor said, leading them back out. “They are seen as pitiful, and unwell.”

“There are vampires out there who would be willing somewhere,” Kyuhyun said, falling into step with Zhou Mi.

“Perhaps. But we don’t have the funds to pay them,” the doctor said.

Kyuhyun made a noise, as though that was an interesting point, and continued walking. And Zhou Mi knew it would be a subject they would revisit when they were alone. If there were vampires willing, without requiring exorbitant sums, then perhaps there was a way to help the patients after all. It sent a thrill through him that he had to quell, or else be caught grinning in hope while they were led past beds full of moaning patients. That was exactly what he had been hoping for in gaining Kyuhyun’s help. Someone with a new perspective to a battle that they were still learning how to fight.

Zhou Mi thanked the doctor, breathing in the clean night air that smelled mostly of smoke and horses. The most beautiful smell, right then. But as the carriage rolled back toward Kyuhyun’s home, Zhou Mi mused aloud.

“Your point about getting vampires to bite them is interesting. It’s a therapy I hadn’t thought of, and if there are vampires willing, it could be an amazing step forward.”

“If it worked. I’m surprised you didn’t suggest that I start biting them right there.”

Zhou Mi shook his head. “Vampire feeding rituals are very unknown to me, and I would not have called you out like that. I had nothing to offer in compensation. And there is only one of you. You could not hope to do it alone. But do you really know of vampires who might be willing?”

“None so altruistic as to bite an entire legion of ill and stinking humans. But yes. There are young vampires, always on the lookout for a meal. Thought it might mean more work, but each patient would need to be bathed. It isn’t as though they have to be made up like a bride on their wedding night, but vampires aren’t immune to smells. And no laudanum. The thrall will calm them enough for the bite.”

“All right,” Zhou Mi said. “I will write that down, and have you look it over. And you can let me know if there is anything I need to do, to help you with the vampires.”

“I know that’s why you’re here, don’t worry. I won’t strain myself if it’s something you can help with,” Kyuhyun said. But there was a tease there that had Zhou Mi sighing.

“It must be like the thrall, but a thousand times stronger,” Zhou Mi said. “Making them invincible, happy.”

“And then giving them unspeakable terror?”

“Perhaps good things come at a price.”

“Including help?” Kyuhyun asked.

It depended on what they were talking about. Kyuhyun’s help was coming at a price, yes. But they had already made some progress. That, at least, made Zhou Mi feel as though he was making the right decisions.

“If you have no want to be bitten, bring the money tomorrow. We will settle it, then,” Kyuhyun said.

“But I thought…” Zhou Mi began, his words dying out as Kyuhyun stared at him. They could barely see each other, but Zhou Mi didn’t have to finish the question to know what Kyuhyun meant. He was giving Zhou Mi an out, a way to avoid being bitten if it wasn’t what he wanted. It was more difficult to think about, because he was already set and ready. To be given another choice had his head reeling.

Maybe it was a test. And maybe, Kyuhyun wanted to know that Zhou Mi was truly willing. If he didn’t agree to the month, he might be paying Kyuhyun anyway. But he realized that he had made his decision, and that there was no reason to alter course, until it made sense to do so. They had agreed on a night, so they would have it.

“Our agreement hasn’t changed,” Zhou Mi said, and turned his head away, to watch the buildings pass, on their way to Kyuhyun’s home.

And the bite.

***

Kyuhyun was hungry, leading Zhou Mi to his bedroom. They both stank of humanity, but he knew that would be of little trouble when their clothes were gone. It was decadent to close the door after them, watching Zhou Mi take several tight steps into the room before pausing. Gratified wasn’t the word, that Zhou Mi had held to their deal. Perhaps it spoke to his integrity, though with little choice, Zhou Mi had taken the lesser offer. It was good business, to start with the least desirable and work back. But Kyuhyun had offered a way out, for more reasons than conscience. There was no thrall to relax Zhou Mi. No way to guarantee his enjoyment.

And since Zhou Mi had left the night before, his eagerness to sup at a human immune to the thrall had been replaced with a desire for the same - only with a human equally as eager to be bitten. So perhaps it was stubbornness or pride that brought Zhou Mi to his home and room, but not all, not nearly. Even if there were nerves, there was also want. And it seemed that made all the difference.

“Undress yourself fully,” Kyuhyun instructed. “Wait in the bed, and I will come to you after. If that is acceptable?”

“Of course,” Zhou Mi said, his back perfectly straight.

And Kyuhyun left him there, walking swiftly to the next room to undress, before following a hidden passage back into the bedchamber. There was a screen there, a seat for changing. And there, he would wait.

It wasn’t usual to watch the prey. Humans that fell into a vampire’s bed were often ecstatic to be there, posing little challenge. Hardly a conquest when the subject begged. And it wasn’t as though he wanted a struggle. He didn’t want someone to fight back. Taking people against their will wasn’t in his list of things to accomplish. But it seemed prudent to watch Zhou Mi. He could be quiet when he wanted to be, and he was then. Watching from behind a screen that was more for decoration than it was modesty, as he watched Zhou Mi undress. That had been his instructions after all. For a moment, he wondered if Zhou Mi would comply fully, pausing at the drawstrings of his drawers, before lowering those as well.

Perhaps it was also a way for Kyuhyun to get a better look at what he was getting into. The flexing of Zhou Mi’s shoulders as he had drawn off his shirt, the baring of a smooth, if not overly muscular back, lean hips, and long legs. He drew his eyes up from the curve of Zhou Mi’s calves, to see what he sported between his legs. Nothing that wouldn’t fit if he let Zhou Mi above him, and the thought of sucking him had him licking his lips. Not the least of his vices, the feel of a man writhing at the command of his mouth had become a desired pastime. Zhou Mi wasn’t the least bit erect, but he could see that cock growing to suit him very well. And a fastidious man, the way he put aside his clothes. Denied a valet, but not helpless because of it.

He had to muffle the laugh as Zhou Mi reached to touch the bed only to be surprised by what he felt. The silk sheets had been put on, slick and cool. Not something he enjoyed sleeping on alone, but it wasn’t something he ever spoke of. He got cold when he slept, not an uncommon vampire trait. So he much preferred stouter, warmer cotton. Zhou Mi sat, cautious, as though he expected Kyuhyun to enter at any time.

And Kyuhyun felt like the cat stalking his prey.

Waiting, patient, because he had all the time in the world. Watching Zhou Mi first stay sitting upright, before swinging his legs under the covers. Touching the soft coverlet and leaning back against the pillows. Eyes roving the room in curious sweeps. Taking in what he could about Kyuhyun, no doubt. But he wouldn’t find much of Kyuhyun in that room. It had been decorated according to the latest style, maybe five years previous. Kyuhyun used it to eat, to seduce, to sleep, but for little else. It served its purpose.

A noise down the hall, likely a servant, had Zhou Mi jerking, half sitting up and baring his chest and dark nipples to Kyuhyun’s eyes. Again, he licked his lips, biting down on one for a moment as he cautioned patience. He hadn’t found out all he had come to see. Kyuhyun was mostly curious what Zhou Mi would do. If he would wait, patient, in the bed, or dress again, to find out where Kyuhyun was. There was nothing for Zhou Mi to do, besides wait. And so, independently, they waited together. Kyuhyun with slightly more patience, as he watched Zhou Mi sink into the covers, only to sit up ten minutes later and stare at his clothes.

“Maybe I misunderstood,” Zhou Mi murmured.

And Kyuhyun had to pinch his nose shut to keep from laughing audibly.

Kyuhyun’s patience was rewarded, as Zhou Mi covered up again. Watching his eyelids droop, and flutter. Starting awake once, before relaxing fully into the pillow, unable to keep himself conscious any longer.

He waited a few minutes, for Zhou Mi to stay asleep, and stood at long last. Stretching his stiff back and legs, he padded on bare feet to the side of the bed. He could see a tiny mark at the base of Zhou Mi’s neck, his ear, his bottom lip slack in sleep.

It made him wonder. He understood Zhou Mi even less, because that hadn’t been the expected outcome, but somehow it pleased him as he tossed aside his clothes. His touch was very deliberate, squeezing Zhou Mi’s shoulder once. No response, not at first, except a small twitch. So he squeezed again, and cleared his throat, and watched Zhou Mi rouse. Eyes opening, clearing, as he stared up at Kyuhyun.

“Oh. Oh!” Zhou Mi would’ve sat up, had Kyuhyun not been holding him back. “I’m sorry. I must have fallen asleep.”

“I made you wait,” Kyuhyun told him. Not untrue. But Zhou Mi smiled at his words, relaxing beneath his hand. And that confused him further. In a stranger’s bed, sleeping, relaxed. Trusting, as he was woken. He wasn’t sure a man like Zhou Mi existed. Many he’d seen would have come out of sleep with fists flying. Not smiling with sleep-bobbled eyes, as pliable as clay. But the man who’d been wary before sleep was still there, that he knew. It made for an interesting picture of a man he wanted to know better.

But no more tricks. He was hungry, and he meant to have Zhou Mi’s body, as well as his blood.

“Are you ready?” Kyuhyun asked.

“Yes, of course,” Zhou Mi said, and reached for the blanket edge to let Kyuhyun in.

“You got the bed warm for me.”

“I suppose I did.”

And the warmth sank into him as he slid beneath the covers, their hips rubbing as he displaced Zhou Mi from his spot. They were of a size to each other, if Zhou Mi had the advantage in height if not weight. But in bed, they were as equal as was possible.

The wary Zhou Mi was there, cautious, as Kyuhyun touched his neck. Feeling the pulse, high, and rising, and feeling the hunger growl in him. Zhou Mi would experience all there was, with a vampire. It was why he could not have let Zhou Mi go at a bite. True, he fed off the blood, but also on sounds, and scents, and textures. Zhou Mi was a challenge, with no thrall to help him. A test. Of prowess, of need. And he got his first sound, laying a cooler hand against Zhou Mi’s chest. The softest “ _oh_ ,” that drew heat into Kyuhyun’s cheeks.

He’d drawn that sound of his own doing. Not because of thrall, or whatever it was in his skin, in his being, that humans responded to. But because he’d touched Zhou Mi, and elicited that response. It made him want others, watching as Zhou Mi struggled from the grips of sleep, finding his self-consciousness as Kyuhyun moved above him, straddling his hips. It was the most honest pleasure, skin to skin. Hedonistic, perhaps, but true. It didn’t matter how much of him touched a human, because the thrall did not grow stronger. But his skin warmed against Zhou Mi’s, thigh against thigh, torsos close. The covers settled over Kyuhyun’s shoulders and enveloped him in Zhou Mi’s lingering warmth. The touch on Kyuhyun’s side had him arching. Zhou Mi, a cautious hand, poised to shove Kyuhyun away if he had to.

He didn’t have to ask if Zhou Mi’s nerves were up. He could feel the swelling beat of Zhou Mi’s heart, the shallow, quickened breathing.

“Are you worried it’s going to hurt?” he asked, letting his lips bounce off of Zhou Mi’s jaw.

Not so self-possessed then, Zhou Mi’s laugh was breathy. “Which part?”

“Does sex usually hurt? I’m a vampire, not a sadist.”

And if anything, he had reason to be even more careful. To ensure that Zhou Mi came away with an appreciation of what they did. It would be partly his skill and want, and partly Zhou Mi’s own, that would determine the outcome of the night. Kyuhyun had no doubts that he would come away satisfied, but he was in no way disappointed in what he saw, or what he felt. The warmth of Zhou Mi’s hand as it spread against his skin, still wary.

“Are you here to be punished? Do you want for someone to tell you what to do, and make you do it? Or are you here because you want a man, even if the teeth come with him?”

“Does that matter?” Zhou Mi asked, his head turning as Kyuhyun nipped as his collarbone.

“It does. If you are here to submit, and I treat you softly, you won’t come back.”

“I am not here to submit,” Zhou Mi said, and the edge was back in his voice, as though it pained him to answer.

“On your back in a vampire’s bed, one might wonder,” Kyuhyun said. But he spoke again, before Zhou Mi could bristle. “But that means you’re here for the man. And that’s good, because I wanted you for more than the thrall.”

Another vampire might choose to bite first, and take later, or perhaps the opposite. It was decadent, for him, to have both at once, and he turned Zhou Mi’s face back toward him.

He intended for Zhou Mi to form his own opinions on what he liked best, and to have time to explore those opinions to their fullest. He hadn’t decided how far they would go, knowing that Zhou Mi’s response also would tell him. Even if it meant that Kyuhyun was denied the fullest of pleasures that night. No matter what words he spoke to force reaction from Zhou Mi, it was Zhou Mi’s presence that intrigued him.

So even before he pressed his lips to Zhou Mi’s, he knew.

He wanted the full month.

***


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The streets of Zhou Mi's city are being contaminated with a new drug - Euphoria. Pure vampire blood, it causes a high unlike any other, but when the high fades, the nightmares begin. It is the spread of Euphoria that Zhou Mi fights, and in that fight he needs a partner to get him to places and people that only a vampire can.

***

Zhou Mi’s mouth was warm, wide, and giving. The taste of him sharp, his smell masculine and deep. Want coiled at the back of Kyuhyun’s neck, sliding down his spine. Want, as he nudged Zhou Mi’s mouth open. He would loosen Zhou Mi up, make him want. He had no way of making Zhou Mi feel his want, but to show it. No thrall to transfer those feelings for him. But he felt Zhou Mi give, the touch of a hand to Kyuhyun’s arm, a quiet sound as Kyuhyun nibbled his lip.

But as Zhou Mi’s head rose to press, Kyuhyun pulled back, considering. Liking what he saw, and the want in Zhou Mi’s eyes.

But Zhou Mi swallowed, frowning. “Do you like to play with people? Like a lion with mice?”

Kyuhyun felt his mouth turn up at the corners. “Why? Are you planning to jump out of bed and have me chase you?”

From Zhou Mi’s expression it seemed that was the answer he’d been expecting, and that Kyuhyun’s humor wasn’t amusing him. Or maybe it was. Just a tiny bit.

“Do you worry you won’t be able to make it good for me?”

“Ouch. Do you hope I’ll be able to?”

“How stupid would I have to be to say no?”

Entirely stupid. His eyes went to Zhou Mi’s mouth, soft and a bit damp from their kisses. He found he liked this human. He wasn’t giving in, didn’t hang on Kyuhyun’s words. More than that, he wasn’t begging. Though perhaps he would be by the time that Kyuhyun finished with him.

Though he admitted that was more like a wish than an expectation.

“Is this your first time with a man?” Kyuhyun asked.

Zhou Mi chuckled, amused and deep in his throat as he stared beside Kyuhyun’s ear. “Would I wait for my first time, to have a vampire?”

“Apparently not.”

But Zhou Mi was still stiff beneath him. He wanted to know that Zhou Mi wanted everything. Perhaps he should have let Zhou Mi take control. But there was a certain amount of trust that they put in each other, just the way they were.

“Relax,” he murmured, kissing Zhou Mi’s chin. “Just feel my hands, and how warm we are together. Let me please you. Forget about the bite.”

“Hard to forget when you bring it up,” Zhou Mi said, swallowing audibly.

“Just feel. Tell me what you like. Tell me what you don’t.”

The slide of skin on skin and softest gasps, and Zhou Mi’s hands holding - not in fear any more, but fingers curling to grasp. And then not holding, but touching. Hands, a little damp from fear, or nerves, or arousal, against Kyuhyun’s back. Opening his mouth and sucking Kyuhyun’s lower lip in, teasing, playing.

He wanted the bite right then, seeing Zhou Mi’s lashes against his skin, cheekbones sharp and high and mouth wet. He could smell himself on Zhou Mi’s neck as he nudged there, licking, kissing.

But he couldn’t yet. Couldn’t. He hadn’t shown either of them what they could be together. Zhou Mi’s rapid pulse, quick breaths, they had changed for him. He teased the skin of Zhou Mi’s chest with a hand, catching at a nipple, tracing ribs, and sternum. The give of flesh and muscle over bone, on a spare man.

But his hips were never quiet. He rocked, shifting, rolling. And against his own growing arousal, he felt Zhou Mi begin to match him.

“I don’t intend to play,” Kyuhyun whispered.

He nipped, hard, at Zhou Mi’s sloping collarbone, and Zhou Mi’s startled cry filled the room. Bitten off, like Zhou Mi had swallowed it. Trying to hide it from himself, from Kyuhyun. But there were things that he couldn’t hide, like the exhale, and the plea.

“Kyuhyun.”

Unsure. He was unsure, Zhou Mi. Unsure if Kyuhyun would eat him up. That invocation of his name…

But that bite hadn’t been a punishment, wasn’t a tease. It was invitation to loosen more, to draw Kyuhyun in.

“I want you to please me, like I want to please you,” Kyuhyun said against his cheek. “You can feel it?”

There were the spaces of heartbeats before Zhou Mi exhaled. “Yes.”

“Zhou Mi,” he said, smoothing the hair at Zhou Mi’s temple. “Kiss me. Kiss me, and maybe—“

He urged Zhou Mi’s arm up, so he could grip the back of Kyuhyun’s head. Maybe it’d make him feel like he had some control. That Zhou Mi might meet his mouth, swallow his moans. It was slow, but somehow… Zhou Mi’s spine relaxed into the bed, at first. Knees drawing up, widening almost in invitation. But that was an invitation he couldn’t take, not yet.

The man who had laughed with nerves, to the man who met his tongue, fingers twisting behind his ear, and hips lifting into his. Forgetting where they were, forgetting what they were doing. For Kyuhyun it was nearly the same. Lost in the taste of a man’s mouth, the heat of his skin, the smell of his arousal. Every man was different. But Zhou Mi was sharp, fragrant, soft and strong, all at once. A man who was currently fucking into Kyuhyun’s hand with little grunts, and moaning as Kyuhyun left his mouth. Red, wet, inviting. Eyes trying to focus, but Kyuhyun dipped his head, pressing his lips along Zhou Mi’s cheek. His hand, stroking, moving skin along Zhou Mi’s erection, was all he really needed to finish Zhou Mi. But he could smell Zhou Mi’s blood - and he knew, knew that Zhou Mi would let him.

He licked along Zhou Mi’s throat and waited, waited for the shudder that would tell him that Zhou Mi knew what was coming. He could feel the pulse of the flesh in his hand, hear the pounding of Zhou Mi’s heart. And he hungered for relief.

The slide of teeth through skin and flesh as Zhou Mi inhaled and froze.

The moan, mingled his and Zhou Mi’s.

The blood, coating his tongue and warming his mouth. He always savored it, that first taste, rich and scented and unique. And he knew when the pain faded, as Zhou Mi’s hand began to knead his back.

His hand stroked, thumb over the head of Zhou Mi’s arousal. The moan.

And he swallowed, warm blood filling him.

And for every stroke he swallowed, faster and faster, driven by Zhou Mi’s moans and the rocking of his hips and the scent of his sweat and blood, until his eyes went wide and blank at the smell of Zhou Mi’s orgasm. The semen on his fingers, mingled with the taste in his mouth. And he grabbed his own erection, needing no more than a minute to spill over Zhou Mi’s body. And as Zhou Mi’s heart slowed, his own body found its control.

His mouth came away wet from Zhou Mi’s neck. A small bloom of blood like a painted rose on Zhou Mi’s skin. He had drank right to the end. It took a lick, two, to clean the wound. Welts where his teeth had been, and Zhou Mi’s deep breathing. He sat beside Zhou Mi, and considered him. The trim body. He wanted more.

As the bed rocked, Zhou Mi moaned again, focusing on Kyuhyun’s face.

“You… I thought you wanted sex.”

“You wouldn’t have anything to come back for more of if I showed you everything,” Kyuhyun teased.

Zhou Mi’s face tightened, and Kyuhyun wondered at that.

“I didn’t come here to be mocked.”

Kyuhyun nearly laughed before realizing Zhou Mi was serious. “Wait! Don’t get up. Don’t—“

Zhou Mi was too quick, evading his hand. But Kyuhyun could be quick as well, vaulting off the bed just in time to be there as Zhou Mi’s knees began to buckle.

“Hey, take it slow,” Kyuhyun said, getting both arms around Zhou Mi’s torso and shoring up his weight until Zhou Mi could get his legs under him again. “You can’t stand up too quickly. You’re too new at this. I took too much from you.”

“Oh,” Zhou Mi moaned, his head on Kyuhyun’s shoulder. “Why?”

“The sounds you were making made it hard to stop. That and I was a little distracted. Now, back into bed.”

“I should go,” Zhou Mi said, his voice still a bit thick as Kyuhyun eased him onto the bed, and back against the pillows.

“The only place you’re going if you get up again is on your face. It’d be a shame to break it so soon. Besides, you promised me the night. I barely got a nibble.”

That got the beginnings of a smile, and Kyuhyun wondered at Zhou Mi again. He was the most confounding man, not like anyone he’d ever dallied with. From those smiles, to the slender, though decidedly masculine, ankle that he lifted and slipped up under the blankets. Zhou Mi’s eyes were closed, getting the room under control, undoubtedly.

***

Kyuhyun didn’t employ a cook. It seemed like a waste of effort when the only thing coming out of his kitchen regularly was tea for occasional guests, and anything required for that was usually simple and both bought and made up by one of his more competent housemaids. But he saw no reason to disturb them when all he needed was a cup of tea, and something to put on Zhou Mi’s stomach. Their store of food was meager, and that was his primary concern.

He hissed as the pot scalded him as he poured water over the leaves. It didn’t burn his skin, but it damn well hurt for a moment. He watched the red subside as he scowled at the brewing tea. That wasn’t all he’d gone for, though. Every vampire he’d spoken to seemed to have a different remedy for helping a human, if there was an overindulgence. Especially on a new human, unused to the effects of the bloodletting. He hadn’t found himself in that situation too often, so he was searching his mind for those accounts. But spotting the fruit basket on the table had him moving to it. A few peaches, rare and perfect. It took only a few minutes, wrestling with the knife and winning, to get one pitted and sliced so that Zhou Mi could eat it easier if the fruit was to his liking.

After all, Kyuhyun really didn’t like sleeping on sticky sheets.

Delicate cup in one hand, bowl in the other, he moved carefully back up to his room. Zhou Mi’s eyes opened immediately at the sound of him coming into the room and Kyuhyun smirked.

“Didn’t get up and rush off, did you?” he asked, glad that Zhou Mi wasn’t asleep yet.

“No, I like my face,” Zhou Mi murmured, brushing a hand over his nose. “What is this?”

“Tea, and fruit. It’s a trial remedy. I hear sometimes it helps humans feel a little less drained after a feeding.”

The tea was still hot, so he put it on the table, but the fruit he handed to Zhou Mi. Watching, as Zhou Mi lifted the bowl and inhaled. Perhaps, there was a tiny little whimper that left him, but perhaps Kyuhyun imagined it. But he left Zhou Mi’s side, going back around to the side of bed he had been on, and sliding into the cool sheets in time to see Zhou Mi stick an entire slice of peach into his mouth.

“Greedy?”

Zhou Mi rolled his eyes, chewing. Kyuhyun knew what that indicated. _You’re calling me greedy? You’re the reason I’m like this._

And Kyuhyun knew it, too. From the satisfied sigh that Zhou Mi gave as he swallowed, to the next eager bite. White teeth biting through soft, golden flesh. It made him simultaneously think of biting Zhou Mi again, and giving him a mix of guilt and satisfaction. No, he had no reason for guilt. He was making up for his overindulgence.

Even if it seemed like another type, to watch Zhou Mi eat. Juice escaping Zhou Mi’s mouth, trickling over his lower lip and onto his chin. Kyuhyun’s hand fisted in the pillow, and he waited until Zhou Mi had swallowed. He tipped up Zhou Mi’s face and watched those eyes widen when he realized what Kyuhyun intended. The sweet tang of the juice against his tongue, Zhou Mi’s skin. Pretending he was a napkin, against the softness he found there.

“Messy,” he whispered against Zhou Mi’s mouth, grinning.

Zhou Mi laughed back against him, letting Kyuhyun have his kisses, until Kyuhyun moved back. But leaning in close, even closer before. His body right beside Zhou Mi’s shoulder, and able to watch him eat that much clearer.

Zhou Mi considered the fruit between his fingers before glancing over at Kyuhyun. “Can you taste the peach?”

“I can. It is sweet. But it does nothing for me.” Kyuhyun trailed his fingertips over Zhou Mi’s chest, up his breastbone, around his nipple. Watching as Zhou Mi’s breath shallowed at the touch. “It doesn’t compare to the taste of your blood.”

Zhou Mi was silent, looking down, his face in perfect profile. And Kyuhyun cursed his mouth.

“Drink your tea, and rest. You’ll need strength for what’s next.”

Not even he was sure what was next, as Zhou Mi sipped the tea. Asking if Zhou Mi felt better was right on the tip of his tongue, hesitating there as Zhou Mi leaned back into the pillow, staring at the ceiling for a long moment before looking over at Kyuhyun.

“Thank you.”

There was a smile there, and it wasn’t so much in the baring of teeth, as it was infused on Zhou Mi’s face. The way his eyes caught the light, the softness of his mouth. He kept having that same _feeling._ The uncomfortable one followed by the acknowledgement that Zhou Mi spoke as his own man.

“That’s why we’re here,” Kyuhyun said, shrugging off the words as though it would shrug away his awkward feelings. But it was both curiosity and pride that had him asking, “So, how was it? Worse than you thought?”

“It was…” Zhou Mi took a moment, staring down into the teacup before turning his head toward Kyuhyun. Their eyes met. “Dizzying.”

It was said in such a peculiar way that at first the joke didn’t hit him. But Zhou Mi couldn’t keep the smile from spreading, and it had Kyuhyun first scoffing, and then almost crowing with laughter. Falling back against his pillow and chortling, trying not to weep with it and hearing Zhou Mi laugh beside him. _Dizzying._ So much so that Kyuhyun had had to catch him when he stood. A response, and yet not a response at all.

“Well played,” Kyuhyun congratulated him, still too amused to be annoyed at being thwarted. And when Zhou Mi had put aside the teacup, Kyuhyun rolled to his side, blowing out the lamp there, and plunging the room into darkness. “You aren’t afraid of the dark, are you?”

“No,” Zhou Mi said. “Are you staying?”

“This is my bed. And it would be a crime to leave it when you’ve warmed it for me.”

That bubbling laugh again, a sound he wanted to touch, examine. More expressive than chimes, warmer. He wondered if he could get that laugh when they were locked together on the bed. A tickle, a laugh. A gasp, and then a moan with the twist of his hips.

“You are cold?” Zhou Mi asked, startling Kyuhyun from his thoughts.

“I’m rarely ever warm, unless I’m near a human. Right after I’ve fed is best. My baths are always as hot as I can stand them.”

But he forced himself to stop speaking, both because Zhou Mi was moving, and because his own mind was ordering him to stop. Too much information wasn’t good, especially to a human he was trying to convince to stay. Maybe a little pity was good, but it wouldn’t inspire want.

But Zhou Mi did not touch him, merely shifting beneath the covers. He wondered at that, wondered what it would be like to touch Zhou Mi and sleep. He didn’t know if he’d have that chance, or if he’d chased Zhou Mi away for good. But he’d had his one night.

The next time he opened his eyes, he knew it was daylight, from way his body felt. He could have woken Zhou Mi then, demanded more. The sun hadn’t come up so far as to prevent him. But it was warm, and Zhou Mi was near, and he slept again.

***

Kyuhyun was deeply asleep when Zhou Mi woke, knowing he was in a different place even before his eyes opened. The soft, thin sheets, the heavy blankets. The dark room, even though Zhou Mi could feel that it was late in the morning, possibly even afternoon. His nakedness didn’t concern him as much as the indecision of what to do. He’d had no intention to stay, but leaving while Kyuhyun was asleep hadn’t been in his plans. Kyuhyun, any vampire, tended to spend most of the daylight hours asleep. Even shielded from it, it was draining to them, like a natural relaxant. He could rouse Kyuhyun enough to tell him he was leaving, but it seemed useless. It was better to go, and return after Kyuhyun had woken. So he rose, carefully pressing the covers back so that Kyuhyun would stay under them, and dressed.

He felt better, but not perfect. But he rang for a servant, and had assistance descending the stairs, and food waiting for him to his surprise. It seemed Kyuhyun had known Zhou Mi would rise alone.

He needed time to decide what to do next. It wasn't just a simple affair. He needed Kyuhyun's continued help no matter what happened in the bedroom. Perhaps it was the way to ensure it. And he couldn't disregard his own selfish wants. Of course he was a sexual being and Kyuhyun offered something he could not easily obtain. There were not droves of men who openly admitted their preference for other men. Everyone got something from the arrangement.

He'd wanted to be in Kyuhyun's bed as soon as the offer was made, and he'd been more than a little displeased when Kyuhyun had teased him short of what he'd been expecting. He was lying to himself if he tried to pretend that it had not been good and that he did not want more. He wanted to know everything. And Kyuhyun had shown concern for his welfare, whether that was to lure him or not. It was easy to hide true inclinations for one night, until a bargain was struck.

Perhaps it was that he was too trusting, too likely to believe in the goodness of people, but he didn’t think so. Kyuhyun curled beneath the covers had been incredibly vulnerable. He could have shoved Zhou Mi into another room, sent him home while weak, or left him there alone. No matter how prepared he had thought he had been, he knew there was no possible way he could have been prepared for everything. Unbitten, though no stranger to men, he had only hopes and no small amount of trust. Trust that Kyuhyun would not maim or kill.

He felt for his neck and could feel the slight soreness where Kyuhyun had bitten him. Not painful, but just enough to tell him that his touch was true. Kyuhyun’s face poised over his, half in shadow. His desperation, Kyuhyun’s mouth wet against his neck. He hissed. It wasn’t in him to be overly embarrassed for his actions, especially when it wasn’t deserved. Kyuhyun had come over him, seemingly just from the pleasure of his blood and sounds. Had Kyuhyun tipped up his hips and demanded entry, Zhou Mi wouldn’t have protested. There wasn’t shame in that. That was what he had gone there expecting. No. Anticipating. He hadn’t gone home after Kyuhyun’s offer and wrung his hands at the possibility.

He was trading his blood in return for sex - and Kyuhyun’s cooperation. And Kyuhyun was trading his time and body in return for blood. He wasn’t sure which was worse, or if that trade negated everything.

He didn’t bother wondering if he would be able to face Kyuhyun after what they had done, so that the work could be completed. He knew he could. And if Kyuhyun deliberately attempted to make him uncomfortable, he could be reminded of their deal. Zhou Mi was too determined to let Kyuhyun or anyone else stand in his way. Kyuhyun would be distraction, true. But also motivation.

He wouldn’t give up.

***

Waking alone hadn’t been a surprise. Kyuhyun had expected it. What he hadn’t been expected was the unease, as he prepared for his waking hours. They’d made no plans, had no guarantees. If Zhou Mi agreed to the month, or didn’t, Kyuhyun figured he would know about it. He figured, per the terms of their deal, that Zhou Mi would get back to him and soon. Within the next day, for sure. Zhou Mi wasn’t a coward. A coward didn’t walk into a strange vampire’s room and strip for him. Maybe it made Zhou Mi stupid, or maybe it had just been what Zhou Mi had wanted.

But it nagged at Kyuhyun as he looked over his mail, and frowned at his ledger.

A brief knock at the door, and a footman stood there.

“Zhou Mi to see you, sir.”

“Bring him.”

He’d had to have come in the servant’s entrance, Kyuhyun thought, but stood as Zhou Mi was seen in. He was dressed for riding, impeccable and impossibly straight. Tall and slender, that was the man he’d had.

Kyuhyun stepped forward. “I see you navigated the stairs without harm. You must be feeling better.”

“I rang for a servant, just in case,” Zhou Mi said with a smile. “After your rather vivid warning that I could break my face, I didn’t want to risk a broken neck. And your staff thoughtfully procured some soup, so I am much improved.”

Kyuhyun had left a note to see that Zhou Mi would have food when he woke. No man was leaving his home without being fed, and he’d wanted no repeats of Zhou Mi’s weakness.

“I’m glad to hear it. It was my fault. I took too much from you, what I would take over two days.” But he forced himself to stop speaking, instead picking up the papers detailing more about the Euphoria. Zhou Mi had left them, and he had read through them with care. “I never did ask you what made this such an important task. Why would you trade your body for these people?”

Zhou Mi’s face tightened, shuttering.

“People have done much more for people they know less.”

“Certainly, people have. But that doesn’t say why you did. And it doesn’t tell me what your decision is now. Did you come to bring me money, or did you come back to agree to more?”

“You would prefer me than the money?” Zhou Mi asked.

“I offered for you first, didn’t I? Money is easily gotten. A man to glut with isn’t.”

Zhou Mi nodded. “Yes. You asked me last night if it was worse than I thought. And it wasn’t.”

He sat forward, searching Zhou Mi’s face. “So you agree to the month?”

"Given how you tricked me, I decided that the best way to see that you upheld your part of the bargain was by being with you. And I doubt you'd want me here if I'd refused you. Your pride."

Kyuhyun smirked. It seemed he was plainly seen through. But again, Zhou Mi wasn’t telling him everything. He wanted more, needed it like a cat yearning into a touch. He didn’t want a sacrificial lamb, and unlike with a human in thrall, he couldn’t make Zhou Mi tell him what he was thinking. So he walked as close as he dared, needing the answer in the only way he felt he could get it. And Zhou Mi’s eyes widened as Kyuhyun leaned into his space.

“Money might be slightly less palatable to my tongue and my pride, but if you’re falling on your sword…?”

“I am just a man,” Zhou Mi said. “And eager to explore the other pleasures your bed might offer.”

Well then. Well then, indeed. Pride blossomed up until his buttons nearly strained, and he took in Zhou Mi from ankle to hairline. His for the month. His to bite, his to please. There because he wanted to be. And there seemed to be no reason to wait.

He reached for Zhou Mi’s lapel. “Well, since you're here..."

Zhou Mi's hand held him back, smile firm. "No. You said that you ate enough for two days. So tonight we work and sleep. Tomorrow you bite."

Among other things. How feisty Zhou Mi was made for continual surprise. He wasn't used to his meals talking back.

***

The small office of the Organization was cool even with the fire burning in the late afternoon. It had likely just been lit, but Zhou Mi knew it wouldn’t be cold for much longer. He didn’t intend to stay long enough for it to heat, when the sun was already low in its descent.

“Did you make your decision?” Daniel asked.

It had been two days since he had checked in with more than a note, so the question was understandable. Not only that, it was a possibility for Zhou Mi to express his regret, for them to start the process of extracting himself from a deal that was something he didn’t want. And he knew, that if it came to that, he could. They’d be able to buy Kyuhyun out - perhaps to the loss of his assistance - but that he had never doubted.

“I have no reason to fear him, and so far it’s been going well,” Zhou Mi confirmed. It had been two nights, and yet still, so much had been accomplished. “He is a fresh set of eyes, and willing to help.”

Not eager, when he’d stared at Zhou Mi’s lists and letters. But willing.

Still, Zhou Mi left the Organization’s office with more folders, and more buzzing in his head. He knew the work was barely started, and there was no stopping now that they had started the path of helping those afflicted.

Still, it gave him time to eat and a moment of rest before making his way to Kyuhyun’s home. Besides meeting with Daniel, he had been able to make more inquiries, make hints at the cure they were looking into. He made good use of his daylight hours. Euphoria would not be stopped with the help of vampires alone, but with human help also. They were intrigued by the thought that Kyuhyun could give them names, leads. But it was not the vampires like Kyuhyun who were infecting humans with their blood, and Kyuhyun had already told him he didn’t know of anyone who would. But the more vampires Kyuhyun spoke to, the more information they collected, together and apart, the better chances they had. Maybe they’d never stop it entirely. But they could slow it. And they could find a way to help.

He listened intently as Kyuhyun read aloud, responses he’d received from vampires he’d known of. Some had refused to speak with him, finding the topic distasteful.

“I know a vampire who might be of particular help,” Kyuhyun mused. “He’s on his way back from the country, so he should be calling in the next few days. His alliances are a bit more widespread than mine.”

“Should I have gone to him first, then?” Zhou Mi teased.

Kyuhyun actually chuckled. “I don’t think you’d have gotten the same reception.”

“He wouldn’t be tempted by a man resistant to thrall?”

They sat in silence for almost a minute, before Kyuhyun responded. “The ones you met, that asked. Those were undoubtedly the thrill-seekers. Most vampires would treat you as though you were poison.”

“Why?”

One of Kyuhyun’s shoulders jerked. “That’s one of those secrets you may never find the answer to.”

But that didn’t mean he wasn’t curious. “Then why were you willing to take the risk?”

“I was hungry. I’m hungry now. So to finish up, I sent another note,” Kyuhyun said, making a flourish with his hand almost as though he’d thrown it himself. “If it turns out as expected, there could be a young vampire willing to try to heal one of your…patients. I’ll know more tomorrow.”

“Oh. Oh, that’s wonderful.”

“Yes. So, I think we’re making progress. And I’ve waited long enough to eat.”

Zhou Mi chuckled, feeling the shiver go down his spine. “Same as last time?”

“If you’re asking me if I want you naked, yes. I won’t make you wait tonight.”

That was good, Zhou Mi thought as he climbed the stairs. He wasn’t sure he’d be as patient, waiting for Kyuhyun. Either getting dressed to find him, or borrowing a dressing gown, if Kyuhyun forgot about him, he’d be reminded. Zhou Mi was embarrassed enough that he’d fallen asleep the first time, though when he remembered how pleased Kyuhyun had been to wake him, he understood that might have been what Kyuhyun had been wanting. It had certainly kept him off guard. Just being in an unfamiliar place had done that, but Kyuhyun’s room was much more familiar that time. The heavy curtains that would block out all light, the wide bed with its dark spread. It looked like a bedroom of a sensual person, someone setting up for seduction just in the richness of colors and soft textures, lit only with two lamps. But he wasn’t going to make love with the bedspread.

It wasn’t as terrifying, undressing that time. He was aware that Kyuhyun could come through the door at any moment, as he put aside each piece of clothing. He knew it hadn’t hurt - much. And also that Kyuhyun had talented hands. He breathed in deeply, and then exhaled. If it were just a man he was bringing to his bed, arousal would be his first thought. He still had apprehension edging in before that. But that didn’t quiet the small voice in the back of his head that wondered if Kyuhyun would do more than touch. He was curious, paid more attention to the way that Kyuhyun’s clothes fit him. And he had been too unsure to do much exploring.

And it had only been two days earlier that he’d first slipped between the soft sheets. Cool against his skin, and he nearly shivered as he covered up. They warmed to him, as he wondered if Kyuhyun would. He also wondered if Kyuhyun would feed too much, if he wouldn’t leave until morning because he was too woozy to.

Perhaps Kyuhyun would carry him down the stairs.

“Something funny?” Kyuhyun asked, as he slipped in the door and heard Zhou Mi’s laughter.

That sobered him a bit. “Just amusing myself while waiting.”

And while watching. Eyeing Kyuhyun as he tossed aside his jacket, padding on bare feet to the bed. Something about the way Kyuhyun loosened his cuffs, his collar, as he got a knee onto the mattress.

“I won’t keep you waiting any longer,” Kyuhyun told him, and tugged the blanket down nearly to Zhou Mi’s waist.

He reminded himself to breathe, as Kyuhyun sidled closer beside Zhou Mi’s body. He was happy with what Kyuhyun saw. He’d grown out of the gawky youth he’d been, finally seeing a man instead of something too thin to be believed in the mirror. Harder, when his own friends had filled out and he had not. But he imagined Kyuhyun was pleased. He was man who could, if Kyuhyun wished, fight back.

Fighting was least on his mind as he inhaled, Kyuhyun leaning over him, teasing fingers along his collarbones. He tensed, at the first swipe of Kyuhyun’s tongue against his neck.

“Relax,” Kyuhyun murmured after a minute, accidentally reminding Zhou Mi to breathe.

The nerves simmered deep. Not so much for the pain, but remembering how dizzy he’d been, and the unsure footing they were on. But Kyuhyun didn’t _bite_. He pressed wet kisses along Zhou Mi’s neck, taking warm swipes with his tongue as though tasting Zhou Mi’s skin. He teased the edge of Zhou Mi’s earlobe, and in relaxed him in some ways.

Made him more tense in others. But those ways, were arousal. Interest. Wondering what they would do, beyond the bite. What Kyuhyun would ask of him. He raised a hand, tentative at first. Touching the back of Kyuhyun’s head, and then sinking his fingers into Kyuhyun’s hair. It was rich, slick against his hand, and he inhaled, trying to catch the scent of it. He licked his lips, smile tugging as he imagined rolling Kyuhyun over, his hands in Kyuhyun’s hair, and kissing him until he was gasping. Kyuhyun hadn’t wanted a man susceptible to thrall, and he could show Kyuhyun why he’d made a good choice.

He wasn’t used to being so passive. He was used to knowing what he wanted, and asking for it in any way he knew how - whether he got it was up to his partner. But it was no human man humming against his neck, and that was what was holding him back. But he was taking a step. Or a touch, he thought, massaging the back of Kyuhyun’s head. And it came as a shock, the bite. The first break of the skin, the inhale and tense. He forced himself to relax, still startled as Kyuhyun gripped his arm to hold him still. He wasn’t sure if the soft sound Kyuhyun made was to reassure him, or in enjoyment. But he focused on the inhale, the exhale. And it seemed he had not taken half a dozen slow breaths before Kyuhyun was cleaning his skin and moving back.

They stared at each other a moment, before Kyuhyun licked his lips.

“That’s good for today,” Kyuhyun said, and pushed away.

Zhou Mi stared as Kyuhyun settled back against the pillows, looking like had every intention of staying there and resting.

“You aren’t— That’s it? Why did you have me undress?”

Kyuhyun turned his head, eyes steady on Zhou Mi’s. “They say we eat with our eyes. And you made a pretty picture.”

There was a tease there, but also a test. If Zhou Mi protested too much, it would make it seem like he wanted too much. It would put him in a position where Kyuhyun held power over him. And Kyuhyun did already, but the less he knew about Zhou Mi’s thoughts, the better. Though the way Kyuhyun considered him, he’d given too much away already.

“You can please yourself. I’d be glad to watch,” Kyuhyun suggested.

“You haven’t earned that,” Zhou Mi said, and swung off the bed to get his clothes. His driver was waiting to take him home, and Zhou Mi had had no idea how long he would be. He did right then. He didn’t even bother buttoning his shirt, instead buttoning his jacket over it.

“You’ll be steady enough getting down the stairs?” Kyuhyun asked.

There hadn’t been the same reaction after he’d gotten up after the last bite.

“Yes, I’ll be fine,” Zhou Mi said, shoving his feet down firmly into his boots.

“And getting home?”

“I have a driver here,” Zhou Mi told him. The carriage would be hitched up, and he would go home to his own bed with a vampire bite on his neck and an uncomfortable arousal. Though thankfully more mental, than physical. Perhaps he’d overestimated what Kyuhyun wanted. Perhaps being a pretty bauble for Kyuhyun to toy with and bite had been all Kyuhyun required, and games in bed had just been to toy with Zhou Mi’s mind, to entice him. Perhaps Kyuhyun had been able to smell the interest, and had used it to get what he really wanted - blood.

“Be careful going home, then,” Kyuhyun said, at Zhou Mi’s elbow and almost made him jump. “I have to make sure you’ll be able to live out the remainder of the contract.”

Kyuhyun’s hand patted at Zhou Mi’s chest, fingers sliding through open fabric to tease Zhou Mi’s skin.

“Come earlier tomorrow.”

“It seems you don’t need much time to feed,” Zhou Mi began. “So I might—"

“I won’t be shorted time,” Kyuhyun interrupted. “I won’t be allotted fifteen minutes to feed at your whim, your jacket buttoned to your chin as you walk out the door. This bargain was for all of you, and you may order me as you like, but I’ll have what’s mine.”

Zhou Mi’s mouth thinned, taking in Kyuhyun’s words. “I have no say.”

“You have every say. But there is a time.” Kyuhyun’s fingers gripped his shirt, pulling him until he was forced to take a step toward Kyuhyun and meet his eyes. “You won’t enjoy the fuck, if you’re worried about the bite. You nearly passed out the first time, and forced me to wait the second. Now you dress under your own power, leave on your own time. I’ve given you no reason to fear.”

Zhou Mi was abashed. He’d seen what he was denied, but not what Kyuhyun was doing for him. They were bartering, one thing for another, but that didn’t mean that they were not working together on both. He’d forgotten that. Still, Kyuhyun’s tease was too much. Perhaps he knew that, and that was why he explained himself. Kyuhyun wasn’t haughty, merely reserved. There was a lot there he didn’t know how to describe about Kyuhyun, even to himself.

“So my anticipation will cancel out my apprehension?”

“Maybe not entirely. I can’t make you want, and I can’t calm you. Go. I’ll see what I want tomorrow.”

And Kyuhyun let him go, walking back to his bed. Zhou Mi left him there, the feeling of Kyuhyun’s fingers against his chest an echo to the pleasant lingering ache from the bite on his neck.

***


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The streets of Zhou Mi's city are being contaminated with a new drug - Euphoria. Pure vampire blood, it causes a high unlike any other, but when the high fades, the nightmares begin. It is the spread of Euphoria that Zhou Mi fights, and in that fight he needs a partner to get him to places and people that only a vampire can.

***

The work was slow. Kyuhyun could see the frustration in Zhou Mi’s face as they talked, the questions he asked as though Kyuhyun wasn’t pressing hard enough. He wasn’t sure exactly what all Zhou Mi did when he was away from Kyuhyun, but he could well imagine Zhou Mi showing up at doorsteps and making walks through the sanitarium to remind himself just what he was doing in the fight against Euphoria. And then at some unknown time after dark, he showed up at Kyuhyun’s doorstep. Impeccably dressed with stacks of paper, questions, and stares. But there were only so many inquiries Kyuhyun could make, so many doors he could open without slamming through them and causing alarm.

“Isn’t there somewhere we could go?” Zhou Mi mused. “Somewhere it might be distributed?”

“Like some den of vampire delights? Some clubhouse for delinquents and degenerates?”

“I don’t know.”

“Vampires are not a particularly social lot,” Kyuhyun told him. “But… There are the dens. You might think of them as a brothel where blood - human blood - and sex is traded there, but it is mostly a gathering place to feed. It has been a good number of years since I’ve been to one.”

“But…?”

“They can be dangerous. Some vampires go to show off their new acquisitions, and the front room of one I visited looked more like an orgy in sets of two. Most of the deeds are done out of sight, depending. Sex, feeding, naked humans waiting for their turn. Glutting in every sense. To go to one and ask about Euphoria would be beyond conspicuous.”

“What if you asked the humans? Would they hear rumors? We’re not as stupid as you might think.”

“It’s possible. More than possible,” Kyuhyun said, and half considered it. “But they tend to move frequently, because of the less than ideal reputation. A few humans have been accidentally killed, drained, when vampires weren’t watching themselves. My friend will know how to find one.”

Zhou Mi sighed and relaxed slightly. “Good. All right. I’d have said we could go tonight, but at least we might have a lead.”

It seemed Zhou Mi was satisfied with even the possibility of going, though for Kyuhyun it made him more anxious than anything. Taking Zhou Mi into that situation was less than ideal. Even if he knew that Zhou Mi had seen things, terrible things, in his quest to help people, he knew Zhou Mi rarely experienced anything like what Kyuhyun had described. And he was being polite.

Still, Kyuhyun shook his head. “We couldn’t go tonight, unless you had a change of clothes. A new vampire walking in with a human would cause a stir. But a new vampire walking in with what is obviously a gentleman in possession of money would be a commotion unlike any you had seen. Perhaps we don’t share, but some aren’t above stealing.”

“So I would need to dress differently? I never thought someone would want to try and..take me? I don’t understand.”

“I’d prefer if you didn’t go at all. I could speak to humans without you with me, and we wouldn’t have the problem. But yes, you would need to dress as a servant. It would make you stand out less. And you would also need to pretend you were in thrall.”

“I’m curious to see what you describe,” Zhou Mi said. “I know we shouldn’t take risks, but... You could always return alone?”

Perhaps he would go alone the first time, and take Zhou Mi the second. Perhaps. He would need to make sure he could keep Zhou Mi safe. And it would be interesting to see Zhou Mi at least pretending to be in his thrall. Hopefully he could change Zhou Mi’s stubborn mind.

“We can discuss once we know where one is. But I’m hungry now.”

Hungry. Jittery. Licking his lips at the way Zhou Mi’s pants clung and moved as he stood.

“We’ve made progress tonight,” Zhou Mi said. “I am hungry as well.”

The way he said it, the way he met Kyuhyun’s eyes before he turned, was invitation. And the sound of Zhou Mi’s shoes meeting each and every step going up the stairs was invitation in itself. Zhou Mi hadn’t tried to fight him. Had barely hesitated. And Kyuhyun grinned as he stood.

But what he got when he opened his door wasn’t what he expected. Zhou Mi wasn’t tucked under the covers, waiting. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, with bare feet and shirt half undone. And very much waiting for Kyuhyun.

Even if it was different than expected, he didn’t let that show, as he took off his jacket. The only thing he would have objected to was if Zhou Mi had been trying to leave. He’d have found out why before Zhou Mi took a step outside the door he’d closed just moments earlier. In fact, Zhou Mi seemed eager to get into Kyuhyun’s space as Zhou Mi stopped his arm before he could tug away the necktie he’d loosened hours earlier. He wasn’t sure most days why he let one be put on.

But it was Zhou Mi’s fingers that undid the last knot, slipping it from around his neck and tossing it onto the chair beside them. He took in Zhou Mi’s face, trying to divine what was going on in his head. Zhou Mi undid one button, then two, down Kyuhyun’s shirt before meeting Kyuhyun’s eyes.

"Have you ever been undressed by someone you're biting?"

Kyuhyun kept himself from frowning, as Zhou Mi slipped another button free. “No. Why?”

Zhou Mi merely hummed as he abandoned the buttons in favor of undoing Kyuhyun’s pants, and then tugging Kyuhyun’s shirt free.

“First time for everything, I suppose,” Zhou Mi said, but his voice was deceptively light as he parted the cloth away from Kyuhyun’s chest.

“I suppose,” Kyuhyun said. And he warred with himself, over his next words, if calling attention to it was right, or if doing so would make Zhou Mi self-conscious. But he couldn’t stand the battle. “You seem different. More…confident.”

Perhaps Zhou Mi was surprised, as he pressed his lips together and smiled in a way that was almost satisfied.

“I suppose I am. Would you show me your teeth?” And then Kyuhyun was surprised, his mouth dropping open as Zhou Mi laughed softly. “Please. When I woke up today it was something I thought about.”

Kyuhyun fought the urge to lick over them, but he had no reason to deny Zhou Mi’s request. He pulled back his upper lip, letting the blood teeth show. And watched as Zhou Mi’s own top lip pulled back in encouragement. It almost made him grin, but then he was distracted as Zhou Mi’s hand lifted. Almost as though to touch.

“Could you bite…” Zhou Mi said, and his words trailed as his hand hovered.

Curious about Kyuhyun’s teeth. Curious about what it looked like, when he was bitten. It was something he should’ve expected, if he’d thought about it. No, none of the people in his thrall had wanted to undress him. None of them had been curious to see him bite. To see his teeth, yes, but Zhou Mi was staring at his mouth with such focused interest. He wanted that interest to be because Zhou Mi wanted to kiss him, not watch him feed.

But he would take one, if it led to the other.

So he took Zhou Mi’s hand, long-fingered and slightly cool, and he traced the tendons along the back of it. Zhou Mi’s right hand, the one he wrote with, undoubtedly the one he touched himself with. He half wished for a stronger sense of smell, so he could tell. Perhaps he would fake it one day, to see Zhou Mi’s reaction. Or perhaps Zhou Mi knew already that between them, there was little difference other than the way Kyuhyun ate, and his number of years. He lifted Zhou Mi’s arm higher, breathing for a moment on Zhou Mi’s palm, licking the salt from his skin. And he lifted his head, eyes on Zhou Mi’s as he carefully set his teeth against the fleshy side of Zhou Mi’s hand, and bit.

Zhou Mi’s body stiffened a bit, but he did not jerk away. His eyes focused where Kyuhyun’s blood teeth had parted, sank into his skin. The exhale was almost shaky as he took a half step forward, to get a better look. Even though they were barely touching, Zhou Mi’s fingers curling against his jaw, it felt like an intimate embrace.

“Fascinating,” Zhou Mi breathed, eyes closing for a moment. And Kyuhyun wondered if he was picturing those teeth sinking into his own neck.

The blood Kyuhyun got, took, was minimal. And he made sure Zhou Mi was watching as he pulled away. He licked, along the ridged skin, over the two small wounds he’d made, leaving no blood behind.

“Do I get applause for the show?” Kyuhyun teased, as Zhou Mi examined his hand.

“Could you do much damage to my neck?”

Full of surprises, Zhou Mi. “If you’re asking if I could tear out your throat, I’m not a tiger or a wolf. The teeth aren’t designed for the tearing of flesh, but the parting of it. They’re a vehicle for blood. We haven’t evolved to be carnivores. But if I set my mind to it, I suppose I could do decent damage. Though so could any human with proper motivation.”

“I see.”

Kyuhyun stopped, though, as Zhou Mi’s thumb touched his lower lip. Just a bit damp, it caught at Zhou Mi’s skin as Zhou Mi stroked it.

“It was something I’d been forgetting. Even though you have those teeth, you’re still just a man.” Zhou Mi's voice lowered. “And I know what to do with a man."

Kyuhyun inhaled. An observation he had never heard. And for the first time in such a long time, he felt seduced.

“So that’s the reason you are— You’re not afraid any more.”

“I have apprehension.” And it seemed Zhou Mi was man enough to admit that. “But it took me hours, almost a full day, to think over your words last night. And when I did, I realized you were assuring me that you didn’t want to hurt me.”

“Unless you want me to.”

Zhou Mi let his lip slide from between his teeth from where he’d bitten it in humor.

It both embarrassed him and made him glad that Zhou Mi had taken away something positive from their little chat. But he felt he was suddenly the one on his back foot, and unsure, because in front of him there was a man he could not predict.

And instead of a touch to influence Zhou Mi, he had only his mind.

It was a challenge that no calculation could give him the answer to. But his hands gripped the thin cloth of Zhou Mi’s shirt, tugged him closer. He tugged until he could feel the heat of Zhou Mi’s breath against his lips, Zhou Mi’s nose brushing his.

In a way, Zhou Mi was right. He didn’t have to worry about the thrall, what he could or could not do to make Zhou Mi want him. Zhou Mi, despite all that, was just a man.

And Kyuhyun knew what he wanted from the man in front of him.

Zhou Mi’s mouth was so warm, so firm fitted to his. And the skin of his neck, even warmer under Kyuhyun’s hands. He wasn’t teasing with that, he was holding. He wanted kisses, wanted Zhou Mi to sway into him and give for him. Or demand, as Zhou Mi’s arm slid around his ribs and pulled them almost painfully close. He could feel his own lips smarting as they parted, tasting Zhou Mi’s lips, feeling Zhou Mi shudder as Kyuhyun gently scraped his nails down the back of Zhou Mi’s neck. He knew - he knew and learned and absorbed what made Zhou Mi gasp. Whether it was the flick of a tongue, or his thumb across Zhou Mi’s nipple through his shirt. He gripped the roundness, the breadth of Zhou Mi’s shoulders, swept the muscles of his chest, and back again. A man against him, breathing hard.

He had blood in his veins, like any other man. And he chuckled against Zhou Mi’s wet mouth as he rolled his body against Zhou Mi’s and Zhou Mi’s hands gripped his hips. Men were easy. Maybe not to catch, to bite. But when a man was aroused, it was impossible to hide.

And Zhou Mi’s face pressed against his on a breathy moan as they met in a dance that was impossible to misinterpret.

“The bed?” he murmured, and Zhou Mi nodded.

It took a little coordination, but they both finished removing each other’s shirts. And unlike the first night, it was different being up close as Zhou Mi’s pants opened, slid down. He got to watch everything, press the cloth off of Zhou Mi’s shoulders, see Zhou Mi’s thighs emerge.

But it was when his knees went a bit weak, at Zhou Mi’s lips against his neck, that he knew they couldn’t tarry. He needed Zhou Mi, right then. Needed his body, needed his blood. His hand curled hard on Zhou Mi’s arm, and tugged him along.

He watched as Zhou Mi arranged himself on the bed, and had an up-close view as Zhou Mi’s eyes went a bit wide, anxiety all but leaping out of him as Kyuhyun settled above him with the little tin of thickened oil beside them. He kissed Zhou Mi, kissed him until the stiffness went out of his jaw, and Zhou Mi’s hand lifted to rest in Kyuhyun’s hair. Until Zhou Mi’s fear of what would happen abated, until he could remember that the men they had been standing up were no different than who they were lying down.

The problem was Zhou Mi’s mouth was too inviting. Pillow-soft at times, dark and well-kissed. He was contemplating leaning in again when Zhou Mi made a soft sound, patting the back of Kyuhyun’s head.

“Thank you.”

He suspected that Zhou Mi was thanking him for distracting him from his fear. He didn’t want to think about that. He just wanted to _want._

He knew the sensitive parts of Zhou Mi’s body, and he touched there. He coddled, fondled, and kissed. For a moment, only just, he took Zhou Mi in his mouth, sliding him as deep as he dared as Zhou Mi squirmed. And he kissed a wet trail back up Zhou Mi’s chest.

“I would have you,” Kyuhyun said, his hand slick between them.

Zhou Mi rubbed his cheekbone against Kyuhyun’s, hard. “Yes.”

Zhou Mi was heat and sweat, and sweetest moans. Sweeter than the peaches he’d tasted on Zhou Mi’s skin that first night, and Zhou Mi enveloped him. He’d have urged Zhou Mi to relax, if he’d had thrall at his fingertips, but he didn’t. But he had his mouth, and fingers to stroke Zhou Mi’s arm. Wet, sighing kisses, delicious agony of waiting, until Zhou Mi was gripping his arms, urging him with his hips.

He would not forget himself that night. Not for Zhou Mi’s moans, or for the stroking of his hands, or his kisses. He wanted to glut in Zhou Mi’s body, but he wanted it one at a time, to enjoy Zhou Mi’s blood, and enjoy the pleasure of his body.

“Kyuhyun,” Zhou Mi rumbled, and Kyuhyun licked his lips. If Zhou Mi was afraid, he didn’t feel it. Kyuhyun bit and lost himself to the richness of Zhou Mi’s blood as his body moved on instinct. The sounds were not sounds to stop, and the way Zhou Mi grasped at him was not to push him away. Zhou Mi was aroused, so aroused between them and it made his lower back tremble.

Kyuhyun’s mouth came away wet, leaving traces of blood on Zhou Mi’s skin. Just to see, as his mark, as he lifted Zhou Mi’s hips.

He watched Zhou Mi’s head fall limply back, and stroked Zhou Mi in time with his own hips. He wanted to bite again, knew he couldn’t, but he wanted. He wanted. His own pleasure shuddered through him first, and he did not stop.

And with his appetite satisfied, he licked his lips and watched Zhou Mi come for him.

Kyuhyun saw when Zhou Mi slept, and knew when Zhou Mi rose to leave. In his mind, he ticked off another day from their agreement.

***

Kyuhyun observed Zhou Mi, the way he talked, the way he read. There was something there that was curious, that made him curious beyond the fact that Zhou Mi showed up endless new questions, reports, and stories. He wore the clothes of a wealthy man, but didn’t display the habits of one. Of course, he spoke finely and well, had good penmanship and grammar. He’d clearly been well-educated, and had both horse and carriage. Perhaps it was only Kyuhyun’s impression of some of the wealthy of society, that their money worked for them, instead of the other way around.

But Zhou Mi tirelessly used the desk Kyuhyun had provided for him to draft letters pleading for help from people he had visited, and those he’d never met. He documented things he’d seen in great bound books, and undoubtedly kept ledgers though they were nowhere Kyuhyun had seen. Half the reason he assumed Zhou Mi was there, working in front of Kyuhyun, was to encourage Kyuhyun to work as well. He did not arrive as soon as the sun went down, and in fact rarely before midnight. It gave them time to collaborate, to work, and plan. And also to feed.

Kyuhyun had his own household to attend to, and Zhou Mi never asked him of that. But he was there, he supposed, if Zhou Mi needed him.

Though sometimes, he got distracted just watching Zhou Mi. The movement of his pen across the paper, the flexing of his hands, or even the way his earrings caught the light. There was a certain way he would frown as he considered what he was writing, stopping and starting, reaching for ink, fresh paper. And there were the smiles when Zhou Mi seemed especially pleased with himself, or when he signed off with a flourish.

And Zhou Mi caught him staring.

“Nothing to do?” Zhou Mi asked, craning his head up to look at Kyuhyun’s desk.

“Enough. I copied all the letters you asked for yesterday.”

“I’m sure I have more of those for you to do,” Zhou Mi laughed.

“I suppose I could work on my own correspondence.”

“You could,” Zhou Mi agreed.

Their eyes met over the desk, and he watched Zhou Mi’s brow furrow slightly. It was curious, and Kyuhyun could only guess at what he was thinking. A hesitation that Kyuhyun wasn’t sure was due to what they were working on, because that was something that Zhou Mi had never hesitated about.

“Something on your mind?” he asked, giving Zhou Mi an opening. He found he wanted to know, when Zhou Mi looked like that. The man’s brain was a puzzle, fascinating. Seemingly pure and altruistic, but with the most basic wants.

Zhou Mi’s little laugh was embarrassed, and almost self-deprecating. “Actually, yes. The way you looked at me reminded me of last night. This morning.”

Kyuhyun’s lungs expanded. Zhou Mi had left late that morning, and it had been without event, and had shown up again without there being a difference to before. Kyuhyun hadn’t given it much thought, really, assuming that Zhou Mi had accepted what had happened and they would continue on.

“Did I traumatize you overly much?”

What they did in bed, the biting. There were so many opportunities for Zhou Mi to be unhappy.

Zhou Mi’s eyes, having focused back on his paper for a moment, flickered up. “I think you know you didn’t.”

“That’s good then,” Kyuhyun said, trying to keep his voice severe and his mouth perfectly straight. He partly succeeded, and that embarrassed him more than anything. “Go back to your letters. You’re distracting.”

Zhou Mi’s lips parted. “Am I?”

“As I watch you, yes. Thinking of all the things we could be doing. There are ways you could keep me focused,” Kyuhyun teased, finding his sense of humor again.

“What would those be?” Zhou Mi asked as he stood up. Perhaps Zhou Mi was ready for a break as well. He couldn’t do with cramps in his fingers. Before Zhou Mi caught him earlier, he’d half been thinking of ringing for tea, or some kind of food, so he could watch Zhou Mi eat. But right then, he had other prospects in mind.

He considered that as Zhou Mi stepped closer. And with his legs parted, he ran his hand up his thigh. An invitation. “You have a lovely mouth.”

Zhou Mi’s eyebrows rose. “We bargain pleasure for work?”

“I don’t take what I cannot give,” Kyuhyun said, and Zhou Mi’s laugh rang clear.

“You have my interest.”

“We have the whole rest of the night to work.”

“You’re like a pleading child,” Zhou Mi chided.

And Kyuhyun hissed as Zhou Mi’s hand spread over the front of his pants. “But you’re glad I’m not.”

“You’re right.”

It was the second night in a row that Zhou Mi undressed him. Only the sight was much more in brighter light, and Zhou Mi kneeling between his legs. With a look over his shoulder, to see if they were hidden - and they were, mostly - Zhou Mi undid Kyuhyun’s pants. Maybe he’d been mostly hopeful, and less expecting Zhou Mi to capitulate, but his body was not protesting. He swallowed hard, several times, and let Zhou Mi guide his legs open wider. And it was pleasure itself to watch Zhou Mi move closer. But not as much as the touch.

“I like a man who does what I want,” Kyuhyun tried to jest, but it came out strangled as Zhou Mi ran the backs of long fingers against him. It was effortless to rise to Zhou Mi’s touch, listening to Zhou Mi breathe and hum as he explored Kyuhyun’s body. He wondered what that mouth would feel like against his stomach, his chest. He curved his hand around his chair arms to keep from offering his fingers for Zhou Mi to suck. He wanted to know everything about Zhou Mi’s body, and how he responded. He wondered if Zhou Mi would moan for him, if he did the same.

Zhou Mi glanced up at him, a confident man on his knees. No submission in that, no degradation. The smile in Zhou Mi’s eyes nearly made it look like a gift.

“I enjoyed last night very much. Even through my apprehension, you never strayed from me.”

“I’m a vampire, not a monster. You had no knowledge if you could trust—“

He inhaled sharply, at the play of Zhou Mi’s fingertips.

“Exactly. I have that knowledge now. Do you want me to bend to your every wish?”

“Of course,” Kyuhyun said, nudging his legs wider.

Zhou Mi smiled up at him with that look of perfect disbelief. And Kyuhyun narrowed his eyes.

“Why do you look at me like that?”

Zhou Mi’s smile grew wider. “Because. If you wanted someone who would not question you, you wouldn’t have chosen me. But you know…” And Kyuhyun gasped as Zhou Mi’s breath coursed hot along him. “…That I want this.”

Those words shot pleasure through him, leaving him gasping and weak. Almost as much as Zhou Mi’s teasing tongue did, but more visceral. It shot deeper through him, Zhou Mi’s want, that even the proof of it. And when Zhou Mi’s lips parted wet around him, he moaned Zhou Mi’s name. He touched, gentle, behind Zhou Mi’s ear, not wanting Zhou Mi to think he was going to force him, but needing to touch. Needing to feel as Zhou Mi’s head moved. He slid his hand lower, to Zhou Mi’s neck, feeling muscles and skin move as Zhou Mi’s head bobbed. He nearly petted the skin there, from the edge of Zhou Mi’s silky hair, down. Encouragement, and appreciation.

And it was true. It was so true. He wanted Zhou Mi because he knew Zhou Mi wanted him, wanted what they did, wanted it irregardless of what Kyuhyun did. There was no thrall between them, only his kiss, and shared desire. And the way that Zhou Mi looked at him, knelt for him, smiled and teased him, Kyuhyun had done what he had not been sure he could. He did not think Zhou Mi spoke of trust lightly. His hands gripped the arms of his chair as Zhou Mi’s head rose again. Something he did not think he would have.

“That feels good,” he said after a couple of minutes, having to clear his throat even to speak.

Zhou Mi mumbled around him, and it sounded like a chuckle. Zhou Mi would be amused at him. The problem was, it felt too good. The slide of Zhou Mi’s tongue, and the suction of his lips. The little teases of Zhou Mi’s teeth, never to hurt, that made him gasp, and his hips to jerk.

It was too good, as Zhou Mi’s throat rumbled, and it caused a rumble of his own inside. His hips pressed up against the arm Zhou Mi had braced across them, and he gasped as Zhou Mi did not slow until Kyuhyun had lost all semblance of control.

And by the time he was done, Kyuhyun was soft, and Zhou Mi’s lips were plump and dark. A smile, curving Zhou Mi’s lips as he straightened Kyuhyun’s trousers.

Zhou Mi braced himself on Kyuhyun’s thighs as they considered each other.

“How was that?” Zhou Mi asked. And he didn’t seem smug as much as he was perhaps in search of congratulations. Zhou Mi knew very well how well it was. “I never thought, but… Can you have children?”

“Everything seems to work as it did before we were turned, but no,” Kyuhyun told him. “There are no vampire children.”

“At least it works,” Zhou Mi said.

“Yes,” he said, letting his arm curve around Zhou Mi’s neck. “It does.”

He tickled the bottom of Zhou Mi’s chin, and his mouth opened. Somehow seeming to know, welcoming, the softness of his tongue inviting him to taste. Zhou Mi’s mouth, wide and bright, the evenness of his teeth, the catch of his lips, and press of his nose. If there had been room, he’d have dragged Zhou Mi up into the chair with him, grabbing that jaw, and pulling Zhou Mi into him.

As it was, he was pleased that Zhou Mi pushed up onto his knees to meet him, gripping Zhou Mi’s jacket beneath his arms and holding him. And it was Zhou Mi who held Kyuhyun’s face as they kissed. Lazy, sweet, and deep. Breaths as their lips brushed and merged. Catching glimpses of Zhou Mi’s eyes, his lashes, blurred and sharp, and so close. As though Zhou Mi was looking for him, for his mouth, and neither was far away.

Maybe... Maybe Zhou Mi would agree to go to the bed. He was satisfied but not sated.

“Sir?”

His sigh of frustration was mostly inaudible, muffled by Zhou Mi’s mouth. But he was still loathe to let go, and he watched Zhou Mi’s mouth get further away with an internal growl of dissatisfaction.

At least they’d closed his pants back up.

Kyuhyun sighed again and finally looked to his footman, seeing Changmin standing behind him with an amused expression. The footman looked slightly panicked, clearly not expecting their guest to have followed and witnessed what was, for many, an unfamiliar and unwanted scene.

“Thank you. You can go,” he said, smiling to let the boy know he hadn’t done wrong. And to Changmin, “What brings you here at this hour?”

“You?” Changmin said, amused.

His arm steadied Zhou Mi as he stood, bringing them both to their feet He detected just the slightest hint of a flush on Zhou Mi’s face, though his expression betrayed nothing. Maybe about the eyes as he caught Kyuhyun’s elbow. Asking, in that moment, if he should go.

But Kyuhyun shook his head and waited until he was sure Zhou Mi was following him.

“You finally made it,” Kyuhyun told Changmin. “Did you crawl in from the country?”

“I had a few things to attend to,” Changmin said, and looked at Zhou Mi with interest.

Ah yes.

“This is Zhou Mi. He is my human for the month. Zhou Mi, Changmin. My oldest…friend.”

“You make that sound strange,” Changmin said, and he stepped up and took Zhou Mi’s hand. “Tell me, how is our Kyuhyun in bed?”

Changmin was expecting Zhou Mi to immediately be in thrall, to consider his question and answer it. That was something he hoped to explain to Changmin on his own, so Kyuhyun stepped forward, hoping to stop it, when he heard Zhou Mi laugh. The soft sound was not mocking at all, but amused. “I think that is between him and I, sir.”

“I— What? Kyuhyun?” Changmin asked, startled, and accusatory.

“I am not subject to the thrall,” Zhou Mi said. “And I can speak for myself. I know it’s a surprise.”

“And you’ve agreed to the month?”

Kyuhyun sighed, and came even to Zhou Mi. “As I told you. But I doubt that’s why you’re here.”

“You did tell me,” Changmin said. “But you didn’t say that he wasn’t in your thrall.”

“It just means he has to work twice as hard,” Zhou Mi joked.

But Changmin’s tone was snippy. “Precisely.”

And that was enough for Kyuhyun, pulling Zhou Mi back and directing Changmin to a seat.

“What you are here for is to see if you have any knowledge of the Euphoria. Not to question my work ethic.”

If Changmin’s expression said anything, it was that he intended to have words with Kyuhyun, and that was fine. But right then, he didn’t need anyone making Zhou Mi uneasy. And Kyuhyun was hardly the finest judge of appropriate conversation, but questioning Kyuhyun’s choice of meals - in front of Zhou Mi - was far out of taste. But scolding back would be done out of Zhou Mi’s earshot. They had more pressing things to speak of.

He spoke softly, pressing on Zhou Mi’s stomach.

“Wait for me in my room. I need to discuss this with him alone right now. Please.”

There wasn’t a bit of fight on Zhou Mi’s face, but there was curiosity. But Zhou Mi accepted, saying goodnight to Kyuhyun’s guest before leaving.

“Even without the thrall, he’s obedient,” Changmin said.

“He’s a gentleman, here of his own choice. What would you expect?”

“Gentlemen do not agree to a month of feeding lightly. Don’t you worry he will be angry when you cast him off? Or perhaps you won’t want to.”

Kyuhyun sighed, knowing the questions would be coming. Changmin was concerned for him, and that he had expected as well. It didn’t make him bristle less, though, to think his choices were being questioned. “I told him we would have a month, and no more. I am aware of my own feelings, as you have always warned me.”

“What possessed you to even try? You know how dangerous it is.”

“I had not met a human like that who was available before,” Kyuhyun said. “The challenge was too much.”

And the curiosity. And Zhou Mi’s face.

“Then have a night, not the month. Kyuhyun.” Changmin sounded almost exasperated. “I thought I taught you better than that.”

Kyuhyun narrowed his eyes.

“You will spend a month,” Changmin reiterated, “with a man not in thrall to you. A man who can see you for who you are, speak to you as he wishes, respond to you. Any human in thrall, we can tell ourselves that nothing they say matters, because we don’t know what of it is induced by us. You should have cast him off the first day.”

“I am being _careful._ ”

“Despite his determination, there is something unsullied about him. Maybe that’s what drew you.” Changmin considered him for a long moment. “But you also know what you would do to him, if you fail.”

Kyuhyun looked away. “I don’t like losing.”

“I know.” And Changmin seemed to know well enough to drop it. “You had questions about the sickness. This Euphoria.”

“Yes. The humans that fall ill, they are all but destroyed. It was how we met. Zhou Mi came here to solicit my help to fight the spread of the Euphoria.”

“And you want to volunteer me to help the humans. You know how much trouble we’ve gotten in in the past.”

“It’s not about helping humans, not only. If too many vampires are implicated, if the wrong humans fall ill, we could find ourselves in trouble.”

Changmin hummed. “Use of vampire blood this way has happened for hundreds of years. How do you propose to stop it?”

“Stopping it might prove to be impossible. Slowing it is more realistic. But I think Zhou Mi’s main goal is to help those affected. Have you seen them, when the terror grips them?”

“I haven’t. But if it’s affected you this much, perhaps I should. Or…some _one_ has affected you.”

Kyuhyun ignored Changmin’s dig in favor of writing down the address of the sanitarium. “I’ve found a vampire willing to bite one of them, to see if a vampire’s bite can clear away some of the blood, help them to heal. If anyone you know knows anything. How it’s distributed, where, even why.”

“Do they hate humans that much, or is it purely financial gain?” Changmin mused.

That was it exactly. And if they figured that out, then perhaps they were on their way to understanding a lot more.

***

Changmin had not left before getting another warning to Kyuhyun, that he should be cautious with Zhou Mi. Zhou Mi was passionate about his cause, persuasive. Nothing he’d told Changmin had been untrue. The cause interested him, and the thought of humans ill because of vampires disgusted him. For a vampire to use his own blood to gain was lower than any other transaction that Kyuhyun could imagine. Their numbers were fewer, but they were using their power. What Kyuhyun bought and sold, he bought and sold freely, and without deceit. And what he traded for, he expected what was fair in return.

He would help Zhou Mi, because he’d said he would. And because Zhou Mi’s drive to help would allow nothing else.

He wondered if he could taste disappointment in Zhou Mi’s blood.

“Is he still here? Did he know anything?” Zhou Mi asked as soon as Kyuhyun came through his bedroom door. Zhou Mi was still dressed which made sense considering his questions. He'd been waiting to see if Kyuhyun would call him down, stewing in his curiosity.

“He's gone for now,” Kyuhyun said, tugging at his neckcloth. “I gave him as much information as we have and he left to inquire. It could be a few days before he gets back to us.”

“And when he does return?”

Kyuhyun knew what Zhou Mi was asking. “You’ll be there to hear what he finds. I just thought it best that I speak with him alone tonight.”

“He doesn't approve of me?” Zhou Mi asked, far more perceptive than Kyuhyun would have liked.

“Of me,” Kyuhyun corrected. “Humans without thrall are a bit taboo.”

“Is there a reason? I couldn't be a danger to you any more than any human. Especially if you aren't touching them.”

Any human could endeavor to injure him. They would undoubtedly not succeed, but they could try. But Changmin’s warning had nothing to do with the physical harm.

Nor emotional harm.

“You are not a danger to me,” Kyuhyun said, and though he believed it, it smacked of a lie. “Should I feed now?”

Zhou Mi was frowning at him, but did not press him on it. “Since we’re here. Your footman…?”

“He knows not to speak of the things he sees,” Kyuhyun said, chuckling. “Put it from your mind. You’re staring at me as though I am going to explode.”

Zhou Mi leaned forward from where he’d sat on the edge of the bed.

“I was just curious if vampires form relationships with each other?”

“How do you mean?”

Zhou Mi shrugged. “Someone who knows what you are, why you are? It seems that connections would be formed that way.”

“There might be emotional bonds. But nothing else we could functionally give each other. I’ve known Changmin since I was— Newly turned, anyway. We may not form units or families, but there are alliances. And he’s one of mine.”

“Have you slept with him?”

Kyuhyun’s eyebrows rose. “Not recently.”

Zhou Mi startled at that, expecting denial or for Kyuhyun to dodge the question.

“Then you have.”

“It was years before you were born,” Kyuhyun commented. “I barely remember. You know the phrase ‘you can’t get blood from a stone’? That is two vampires together. There wouldn’t be any orgies of two vampires feasting on an unwitting human. Or at least, not many. Feral vampires.”

And Kyuhyun’s face displayed his disgust at the thought.

“Because you don’t share.”

A smile twisted his lips. “You remember that well. That’s right.”

Zhou Mi tugged him closer, his hands on Kyuhyun’s hips.

“And do you…find it pleasing to be had, as you had me last night?”

Kyuhyun’s eyebrows rose. “I do. Though it quite depends on the man.”

The rather pointed glance he sent down Zhou Mi’s body got him a chuckle.

“Getting tired of what is new already?” Kyuhyun asked, getting a knee up beside Zhou Mi on the bed.

“Not yet,” Zhou Mi said, his hand spreading on Kyuhyun’s stomach. “But there isn’t any answer if you don’t ask the question.”

There was truth in that. And what Zhou Mi asked, he had already considered. It pleased him to know that Zhou Mi would want that as well. He would very much enjoy finding out how Zhou Mi used his hips, how it would feel to feed from him as Zhou Mi shuddered inside of him. So many things he’d never experienced and wanted to know. He wondered if there was anything Zhou Mi would deny him. He wondered that each night he watched Zhou Mi dress and leave before the sun rose.

And he would show Zhou Mi all the ways he didn’t share, as they spent that night as he fed, and the next, as they finished out their first week together. Changmin’s fears about Zhou Mi were unfounded. He would show both Changmin and himself.

***

“Ride with me.”

It had been as simple as that, to follow Kyuhyun from the room where they were working, out to the stables. Zhou Mi’s temples had been aching, writing line after line of names of people he had contacted, their willingness to help. Compiling who to contact again, those he might visit personally in hopes of budging them. Finding a cure for the Euphoria, finding vampires to help, finding information of Euphoria’s distribution - all of was helped by money. Donors, those who wished to see the spread of Euphoria ended. His own fortune wasn’t bottomless, but he gave what he felt he had to. He gave himself as well.

Kyuhyun had made an important contact in his friend, and in other vampires. It was good progress, but not the most they’d ever had. The best had been being able to set up the sanitarium, to help the people who would otherwise be screaming alone on the street, or having their family struggle to care for them. The care they got there wasn’t always the best. There was a continual staffing problem, keeping good trained staff, keeping things clean. Not all of them could take the screaming, the continual stream of dirty laundry, the smells. It felt like they were always coming from behind, catching up.

He wished he could do more. But he did what he could.

They rode through the park nearest Kyuhyun’s home, one Zhou Mi had been through once on his horse, but not so recently. The moon was out, so they could see the wide paths they rode alone. It was a gentle silence, filled with the crunch of the horses’ hooves on gravel, soft snorts, and night birds.

“How are you finding having a human at your beck and call?” Zhou Mi asked, the thought coming to him as he mused how different their situations had become. “Especially since the thrall does not work?”

“It’s strange, more strange than I thought it would be. I thought you would be telling me no a lot more.”

“So you wanted to coerce me?”

Kyuhyun chuckled. “No. But to have someone say yes so voluntarily is different. I just assumed that if you could say no, you would.”

“Oh.” Zhou Mi had never thought of it in quite that way. Kyuhyun was used to getting his way through use of thrall.

“It’s not true, you know. Thrall can’t bend someone against their will. It can lower inhibition, or help soften an opinion, but the stronger a person’s will is, the less that can be done.”

“So you’d have tried to get me into your bed, anyway?”

“I’d have tried. I’d have liked it.” Kyuhyun waited a moment. “I do like it. It just takes getting used to.”

“I could promise you I’ll tell you no as often as possible, to make it less strange,” Zhou Mi offered.

“I think we’ll be fine with you telling me no only when you dislike something,” Kyuhyun retorted.

“Then thrall, like anything, can be dangerous. If a human has given you consent, you can calm him. But you could not make him tell you yes. And when you were negotiating with me, you could have…made me more agreeable to your offer.”

“Every person has a point as which their will is firm. I knew you would offer less than you had. It was simply a means of getting to the end without painful negotiation.”

“And Changmin tried to work information from me,” Zhou Mi pointed out.

“Yes. He would have liked you to tell him I was terrible in bed. Let’s dismount here for a moment,” Kyuhyun said, when they reached an area where the trees grew thicker.

Zhou Mi did not ask why, merely coming down from his horse’s back and walking up beside Kyuhyun. There was a post for tying horses a small ways off the trail, a little alcove beside a stream.

“I imagine this spot is beautiful during the day,” Zhou Mi said.

“Yes, it is,” Kyuhyun said, the sound peculiar.

He opened his mouth to ask if Kyuhyun had seen it, before he had been a vampire, but Kyuhyun took his arm and led him closer to the water. It was beautiful then, with ripples highlighted by the moon, and a light chilled breeze nipping through his coat.

Kyuhyun urged him to sit, and the ground was dry at least, covered in grass and scattered leaves. If it had been daytime, or warmer, they could have brought a picnic and stayed a while. A picnic for him, at least. Kyuhyun had brought his own food.

Again the question tickled him. “Did you—“

“Yes, a long time ago,” Kyuhyun said. “Look at me.”

He did, because he wanted to. And he sighed as the dry press of Kyuhyun’s mouth against his, the hand cradling his neck as Kyuhyun pressed him back into the grass. It was cold, seeping up through his clothes, but the kisses were so very warm. Perhaps Kyuhyun was excising some demons, or perhaps he had been struck by the urge to kiss Zhou Mi by the stream. Whatever it was, he did not mind. Curious, but he did not mind. It seemed his headache had faded, the longer they had been out. Just being with Kyuhyun—

Kyuhyun pressed his hand against the front of Zhou Mi’s riding trousers, and he inhaled against Kyuhyun’s mouth. It was proof of his want that he felt his body stir immediately, moaning softly against Kyuhyun and rocking his hips into the stroking hand. He assumed it was foreplay, assumed that Kyuhyun would suggest they get back on their horses and continue in bed.

All he had was moonlight, but he could see the gleam in Kyuhyun’s eyes as Kyuhyun rocked back.

“Right here.”

Zhou Mi’s brain stuttered. “What? How— But—“

“No one is out this late,” Kyuhyun assured him, and right there on the stream bank began to open Zhou Mi’s trousers.

No one. But they were out, which meant someone else could be. And unless Kyuhyun had secreted something with his saddle, there was no slickness, and he knew Kyuhyun could not take him without it. No matter how used to Kyuhyun he was already, there were some things that could not be done. He did not think Kyuhyun was into pain, and his hand slid down his hip in case he needed to reach to stop, to ask Kyuhyun to see reason.

But Kyuhyun did not attempt to pull down his trousers, simply opening the flaps and walking back on his knees until he could kiss the skin bared by Zhou Mi’s lifted shirt.

“You did this for me, and I said I would repay you,” Kyuhyun said.

Zhou Mi shuddered at the low words. He had imagined it, but not in the open, in the dark.

He moaned to feel Kyuhyun’s mouth part around him. The tantalizing hint of moisture inside his lips, the movement of air, cool and warm. As Kyuhyun’s mouth grew wetter, lips pulling in to protect him from his teeth. His _teeth._ It nearly made his hips buck to think of it. Kyuhyun had done just what he was doing before, and there had been no damage. Even if it had been for a moment, then he had not worried. It was not odd to say, he trusted Kyuhyun. He was not under Kyuhyun’s thrall, and there was nothing preventing him from leaving if Kyuhyun hurt him, or went against his wishes. But he moaned again, the soft sound both involuntary and urging. The light and teasing circles that Kyuhyun was tracing with his tongue, he needed more. More friction. More of Kyuhyun’s lips locking tight around him and pulling him deep.

And Kyuhyun’s moans. Echoing through his mouth, the flat of his tongue. The way he didn’t try to impede Zhou Mi’s hips, but urged them, to move with the suction of his mouth, to drive himself to his own end. Grasping at the grass, gasping near his shoulder in an attempt to be quiet. And Kyuhyun’s head bobbed faster, knowing before Zhou Mi did just how close he was.

He was a second away from begging, when he felt Kyuhyun’s teeth slide into his skin, Kyuhyun’s hands harsh on his hips, and he keened as the orgasm screamed through him. He was wanting, and wrung out, by the time common sense came back to him. Kyuhyun had _bitten his cock._ He reached down with a whimper, not knowing what carnage to expect, and found Kyuhyun staring back at him.

Kyuhyun’s mouth lifted with a soft popping sound, but he was still whole. Two tiny dots marked where Kyuhyun’s teeth had entered him.

“Don’t worry, it’s not deep. That’ll be healed by morning. It wasn’t a feeding bite.” Kyuhyun paused a moment before nipping Zhou Mi’s inner thigh with his normal teeth, as though to prove his point. “I like you functional.”

“So do I,” Zhou Mi said, and cursed himself that his voice sounded a little weak.

Sweaty as he was, he was beginning to feel the chill in the night air as the his trousers were adjusted though not closed fully. And Kyuhyun lounged beside him with an air of satisfaction.

“I enjoyed that,” Kyuhyun hummed. “A little snack, two ways.”

“Is that— Do you usually—“

“Is that a normal thing?” Kyuhyun filled in for him, laughing a brief chuckle. “I don’t know. For some reason, I had to try.”

He stared at Kyuhyun’s knee waggling in the air, and half turned his head. “Then you don’t know if I’ll be healed by morning.”

“Unless you are ill, you will be. Don’t be a baby.”

“You wouldn’t be saying that if I bit you.”

Kyuhyun scoffed, but after a moment, he asked, “So you didn’t like it?”

“I didn’t say that.” Though it prompted Zhou Mi to reach down and adjust himself. No terrible pain, just knowing. “It was actually… Kind of exciting. I’ll see how I feel tomorrow and let you know.”

He didn’t have to see Kyuhyun’s face to know he was grinning, all he had to do was see the delighted circles his knee was taking in the air, like a puppy being scratched. It was odd that he should like it, perhaps. In the moment, the shock had flashed, and been eaten up by pleasure. Kyuhyun had timed it well.

“We should get back.”

“You mean I need to ride back?”

Kyuhyun elbowed him. “Unless you want me to carry you. Or I could find a wagon.”

No, he didn’t need that. But he resisted the thought of suggesting they just stay on the bank, right there. Cuddled together, it’d be warm enough for a little while at least, and he could just skim on the edges of sleep with his face pressed against Kyuhyun’s hair. But what he got was Kyuhyun reaching for his hands and waiting for him to get set before hauling him upwards. It took twice as long to fix his his riding pants, because Kyuhyun’s hands were trying to help, and mostly hindered. And he thought by Kyuhyun’s smirk, he knew that.

Though he looked at his horse with trepidation, the mounting was easy and quick. Infinitely more disheveled than he was when they had started, which was putting it lightly, it was a comfortable ride back. He could still feel the bite, not painful as much as it was discomfort, and a constant thought. Kyuhyun seemed to enjoy him being functional, so it didn’t make sense for him to bite there, if it would take too long to heal. He remembered the night before, Kyuhyun teasing, backed up against him. But that wasn't all his focus could be on when he knew that they had so many things still to accomplish.

***


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The streets of Zhou Mi's city are being contaminated with a new drug - Euphoria. Pure vampire blood, it causes a high unlike any other, but when the high fades, the nightmares begin. It is the spread of Euphoria that Zhou Mi fights, and in that fight he needs a partner to get him to places and people that only a vampire can.

***

Extra warning for this chapter: Herein is a child put in harm's way with implications of being treated poorly in the past, though nothing is described.

***

The longer Kyuhyun waited, the more agitated he became. They’d _talked_ was the problem. He’d told Zhou Mi he didn’t want to wait until the early morning, relegated to a fifteen minute bite and a bit of groping before Zhou Mi either left, or the rising of the sun made him want to sleep. After the ride they had taken together, the fact that Zhou Mi trusted him more made Kyuhyun assume they had an understanding. The clock had passed midnight, and it left him growling and stalking out to make sure that no cards had arrived letting him know that Zhou Mi would be late or wouldn’t be coming at all. They had an agreement, and he damn well meant to see that Zhou Mi kept it.

He had a whole speech planned out as it passed one, and then two. He half thought he should saddle a horse, ride to Zhou Mi’s home. The thought was intriguing of itself, since he’d never seen where Zhou Mi lived. Zhou Mi had only come to him. If Zhou Mi had many servants, they’d probably all be shocked at a vampire showing up on their doorstep in the middle of the night. Though with as much as Zhou Mi got around, it was equally possible that he wasn’t even there. The thought of Zhou Mi receiving help from another vampire made Kyuhyun’s teeth set on edge. It was perfectly possible, given how focused Zhou Mi was. But he knew that Zhou Mi was not being bitten by anyone else. That made some of the tightness in his back relax.

Zhou Mi couldn’t have sustained it, and Kyuhyun would’ve seen the marks. And the breath hissed out of him imagining another vampires teeth set at Zhou Mi’s neck.

Kyuhyun heard sounds just after the the hour hand passed three. He waited, tense, until he heard Zhou Mi’s voice speaking to the footman, and stood until Zhou Mi came into the room.

“You’re late. I was beginning to think you weren’t coming,” Kyuhyun said, skirting his desk. “You realize we have an agreement.”

“I do realize that,” Zhou Mi said, tossing his hat onto the side table. “I’m sorry I’m late and that I couldn’t send a note. I’ve just come—“

Kyuhyun stopped six feet away from Zhou Mi, his nose already offended. “You reek.”

“Yes. I’ve been at the sanitarium,” Zhou Mi said. “I rode straight here. We—”

Kyuhyun looked him up and down. His clothes were filthy dirty, and he smelled partly like a toilet, and partly like something Kyuhyun didn’t even want to imagine.

“Save your stories for now,” Kyuhyun said, pulling the discreet rope. A moment later, the footman appeared. “Draw a bath in my bathing room right away.”

“Of course, sir.”

“Come upstairs and let’s get you cleaned up,” Kyuhyun said. “I can’t bite you like this.”

And Kyuhyun led Zhou Mi up the stairs - he didn’t want to be in Zhou Mi’s wake.

Heated water was already being poured into the tub when they arrived.

“They’ll help you clean up, whatever you need,” Kyuhyun said. “Come to the bedroom when you’re through.”

“Yes. Thank you,” Zhou Mi said, a smile curling his lips. He looked tired, too, Kyuhyun thought. And instead of relaxing himself, he went back down the stairs to see if one of the maids could arrange some kind of food. Perhaps once the stench was out of Zhou Mi’s nostrils, he might find himself hungry. He doubted that the food the sanitarium had was much meant for humans fully awake and in possession of their faculties.

And that actually gave him a twinge as he jogged back up. Zhou Mi was doing his damnedest to nurse those people back to health. He wondered how they got their food, who made it, and how it was stored. And then he thought of the filth on Zhou Mi’s clothes and wondered if it was even clean by the time it made it to their mouths. And what staff there was to give it.

Kyuhyun mused on that, as the food was brought up on a tray and left, and until Zhou Mi padded into the room in slippers and Kyuhyun’s robe, with a towel around his shoulders. Kyuhyun gestured to the only chair in the room, and table drawn up near it.

“Sit. I had them bring up a bit of food in case you’re hungry.”

Kyuhyun wondered if he imagined the curling growl that emanated from Zhou Mi’s stomach.

“Did you have to roll around in the filth with them, too?”

“It’s not the easiest task to clean them, give them medicine,” Zhou Mi said, sinking onto the chair, his legs pale and long beneath the robe. “Sometimes there aren’t enough people to help, and I have to try. Perhaps— I bandaged it as well as I could but I don’t want to get your robe dirty.”

“Bandaged what?” Kyuhyun asked.

Zhou Mi had wrapped his arm in cloth, what looked like a clean rag, covering long scrapes that were still a bit bloody in places. Kyuhyun hissed through his teeth.

“You stay there, eat. I’ll get something better.”

Of course his plan had been to admire Zhou Mi as he fawned over the soup, and the fruit, and soft rolls, and the tea. Some kind of lovely gratitude for Kyuhyun’s care. Instead, he was scrounging in a dusty corner to find alcohol and in a cleaner one to find bandages. Having a human around that he was, in many ways, responsible for was turning out to be a tiresome chore. Zhou Mi was just lucky that all the other facets of their agreement made up for it.

And since Zhou Mi had little to no self-preservation - he’d left a sanitarium with wounds he hadn’t cared for? - It was up to Kyuhyun to see to it.

Though Zhou Mi, as he approached with his spoils, looked up with huge eyes. “Thank you for this. This is wonderful.”

It took him a moment to realize that Zhou Mi was speaking of the food, and not the supplies in his hands.

“I didn’t realize how hungry I was until started eating.”

“That’s good,” Kyuhyun said. “Now give me your arm.”

Zhou Mi hissed as he cleaned the wound with the alcohol, something Kyuhyun didn’t have use of for drinking, and at least having bathed the wound was clean in other ways. When he’d finished wrapping and securing the clean cloth, he rocked back onto his heels.

“You were at the sanitarium longer than usual. Why?”

Zhou Mi touched the hand Kyuhyun had braced on the table, patting it lightly as he thought. “Some of the nurses had quit, so it was in a terrible state when I arrived. We managed to find some help, but— They need so many more people than they have.”

“Yes, I imagine so. So you were cleaning.”

“Yes. That and… One of the patients died. He was only a teenager, but one of the sickest. He couldn’t rest, no matter how much medicine he was given. I was just down the hall when he died. Just one scream, and then—“

Zhou Mi’s eyes closed, and Kyuhyun didn’t know what to do or say. Every one of those patients, Zhou Mi was trying to save. That it was a young human had to hurt more.

“Tomorrow, we’ll go together,” Kyuhyun said. “We’ll choose a patient to treat. The vampire who’ll try for us will be ready. Tomorrow.”

“He was in so much pain.”

“But he’s not any more.”

Zhou Mi smiled, the expression sad and wrong on Zhou Mi’s face. “No. He’s not.”

Kyuhyun stood, his legs getting tired of crouching. But he did not move away, reaching instead to touch.

“It sounds as though you did enough work for the both of us,” Kyuhyun said, petting the back of Zhou Mi’s head.

“Yes,” Zhou Mi said, chuckling. “If you put a paper in front of my face, or asked me to write a letter, I would probably not make sense.”

“Then into bed. How lucky, you’re almost naked already.”

Zhou Mi smiled at the joke, and reached for the belt of the robe.

“Yes.”

Kyuhyun watched out of the corner of his eye, making sure there were no other wounds. A few places that looked like there would be bruises along his legs, but nothing that concerned him. Humans, there was nothing to do but allow them to heal. But he would maybe not take quite so much blood. It made him wish he’d sat in on Zhou Mi’s bath, gotten a better look. Zhou Mi had not complained, even if he’d had to have been in pain.

That made Kyuhyun feel like a bit of an ass. But he could make it up to Zhou Mi, that he knew as he climbed under the covers right beside Zhou Mi. With the blankets over him, he pressed to Zhou Mi’s side, careful of Zhou Mi’s arm.

With a finger, he stroked Zhou Mi’s neck. A tease. “Tell me what you want.”

“I want everything,” Zhou Mi said, and thrilled him.

“Tsk. Do you want me to bite you? Or please you?”

“I’m not _that_ tired.”

That was good. He pressed a kiss to Zhou Mi’s chest, and felt the inhale as Kyuhyun maneuvered over him. To Zhou Mi’s stomach, and felt the shiver, the shifting. Zhou Mi knew what was coming. He was not kissing down Zhou Mi’s body for nothing.

“You afraid of me doing this again?”

Zhou Mi paused a moment. “Are you going to bite me again?”

He couldn’t even see the bite marks any more, when he rolled his eyes up at Zhou Mi.

“Not unless you want me to.”

But not that night. It wouldn’t make up for a terrible day. It would, perhaps, make him forget for a little while. If Zhou Mi was truly afraid of Kyuhyun’s teeth, he did not show it. And when Kyuhyun had stroked, kissed, Zhou Mi hard, Kyuhyun let his lips close tight around him.

It wasn’t as though he could feel Zhou Mi’s moans with his mouth, but he had to press down the struggle of Zhou Mi’s hips. Zhou Mi would get his turn, if Kyuhyun’s plan worked out. But right then he wanted control, wanted to let Zhou Mi feel everything. Every flicker of his tongue, tracing vein and flesh, the pull of his lips, and stroking fingers coddling him. He watched the rise and fall of Zhou Mi’s chest, the way his fingers gripped the sheets. Such a man. Though, he couldn’t doubt that, considering what he had his mouth around, and Zhou Mi’s desperation to keep him there and urge him faster.

But that told him it was time. Taking a deep breath, he moved, getting a whine of protest as he unstoppered the small pitcher of oil.

“Do you feel well enough to hold yourself up?” he asked, trying not to be distracted by the pleading hand Zhou Mi had put on his stomach.

“What? Yes?”

With his fingers slick, he nudged Zhou Mi over. And Kyuhyun laid back onto the bed.

“It’s your turn to do a little of the work. Come here.” Zhou Mi did, his face betraying that he’d started to catch on to what Kyuhyun was meaning. Once Zhou Mi had moved between his legs, hovering adorably unsure over him, Kyuhyun pulled Zhou Mi’s head down, letting their lips mesh as he spread the slick oil over Zhou Mi’s erection. It got him shivers, gasps, but Zhou Mi stayed hard for him. And when he was satisfied, he let his head fall back. “You can’t hurt me.”

“Kyuhyun.”

He repressed the shiver of Zhou Mi’s hands on his thighs, felt as Zhou Mi lifted his hips, drew in closer. And he could do nothing but smile as Zhou Mi pressed against and into him. The oil was enough, and his body adjusted. It made it more pleasurable for them both.

“Just like that,” Kyuhyun said, reveling in the feeling of a man above him. A man making his own decisions.

And Zhou Mi relaxed, slowly, as his hips began to move. More confident of what he was doing, his place. He hummed his approval as Zhou Mi stroked his chest, pressed kisses to his jaw.

“So this is what it looks like when you feed from me,“ Zhou Mi breathed. And Kyuhyun inhaled sharply as Zhou Mi nipped his neck just to the point of pain. It made him choke out a laugh far harder than any he could remember while having sex.

“Yes,” he said after he’d gotten control of himself, with Zhou Mi’s laughter spurring his own. “Right after I notice the pretty neck I think oh, breakfast in bed.”

That brought more laughter, Zhou Mi settling closer in a way that he was almost asking for a cuddle, which was odd considering the slow shifts his hips were taking.

But Zhou Mi tossed his hair out of his eyes.

“I know some men refer to certain…assets that they are attracted most to. Do you judge humans based on their necks?”

“Not…entirely. I certainly notice ones that might be nice to bite.” And he had to close his eyes and breathe as Zhou Mi’s hand squeezed his hip. “But I notice…earlobes. And fingers.”

Things that had attracted him to Zhou Mi. He couldn’t have known then the way that Zhou Mi could move, the way he sounded when Kyuhyun purred against his neck.

If he’d known those things, Zhou Mi would never have walked out of Kyuhyun’s house that first night without Kyuhyun knowing he would return. He’d have needed that guarantee, been frantic for it. He’d have guaranteed his help for a year if he’d had to, just to hear Zhou Mi’s gasping cry as Kyuhyun met his hips hard.

The warmth spreading through his body had nothing to do with Zhou Mi’s blood. He hadn’t even eaten. It was _lust_ , Zhou Mi pressing him down, making him want in ways he’d forgotten. The way Zhou Mi panted Kyuhyun’s name against his neck, the unbearable tension. He was lost in his own moans as Zhou Mi took him past reason. Zhou Mi’s teeth fastened on his earlobe, Zhou Mi’s hand reaching between them. It had been years since he’d had so little control over his own—

His fingers dug into Zhou Mi’s back as he came, the pleasure of it ravaging him. He’d been planning to take care of himself after, let Zhou Mi have his fun. Instead there he was with his thighs locked around Zhou Mi’s body and shuddering. And with Zhou Mi making sounds into his neck, half chuckle half moan. All he could do was hold on as Zhou Mi’s breathing, body, quickened, until it sounded like Zhou Mi was nearly in pain. Though Kyuhyun had recovered enough to enjoy the unique sounds, the feelings, of a man succumbing to pleasure.

“Yes,” he sighed, stroking Zhou Mi’s back.

And he did everything he could to prolong it, squeezing Zhou Mi tight and eliciting moans that made his hair stand on end. They were the kind of sounds on Zhou Mi’s voice, ragged, that would have aroused a man long dead. But if that happened, as tired as Zhou Mi had been, he really would be taking care of himself.

Zhou Mi collected himself, just barely, arms shaking as he panted like a dog on his hand and knees.

“You need to eat,” Zhou Mi said suddenly, as though that thought had escaped him as they’d rutted. Yes, it had escaped him as well for part of it.

“Lie down beside me,” Kyuhyun said, his voice rough.

But he half caught Zhou Mi, supporting him as they rolled. Their legs tangled, and Zhou Mi grasped at his side as Kyuhyun pressed wet kisses down the side of his face. He felt Zhou Mi convulsively swallow, heard his name pass Zhou Mi’s lips in almost a whisper, just before he bit. The most soothing taste, the richness of it, punctuated by Zhou Mi’s hand stroking the back of his head in convulsive squeezes. Almost like a cat kneading his owner’s thigh while being petted.

It was regret that had him pulling away, and Zhou Mi’s eyes were confused as Kyuhyun met them.

“You are tired, and healing, and it was trying day,” Kyuhyun said. “There will be more tomorrow.”

“But you’re fine?”

“I am sated. I won’t seek out another human for a snack in the meantime.”

Zhou Mi chuckled, his eyes uneven as he smiled. He looked half asleep already. Kyuhyun shook his head.

“You are gutted. You rode your horse here? Then you should stay.”

“I would be in no danger. I wouldn’t fall down the stairs this time.”

“No,” Kyuhyun retorted. “But go. You could slide off your horse and break a limb on the way home if you’d rather.”

But though he pushed Zhou Mi’s shoulder, he didn’t let go.

“You don’t know where I live,” Zhou Mi murmured, his voice a little loopy as evidenced by his words.

“I wouldn’t need to,” Kyuhyun said.

“One day, you should.”

Should what, he wondered. Find out where Zhou Mi lived, or see it perhaps. It was an idea, even as Zhou Mi’s presence made his back itch. It was close enough to dawn that he was tired, and he knew there was no more reason to talk.

“Go to sleep,” he said, and patted the side of Zhou Mi’s head.

“You said once that you were always cold.”

“In some way or another,” Kyuhyun agreed. After sex and feeding was probably when he felt warmest, with the bed still warm from body heat, and with his body content. By the time he woke, it was cold again. He almost never had reason to let humans stay. But Zhou Mi had shown the last time that he slept calmly, and maybe it had been his imagination but it had seemed that he had woke warmer. Or perhaps that was just because he had overindulged.

“Move back against me, then,” Zhou Mi said. “Since you say I need to stay.”

Zhou Mi’s hand brushed his arm, and Kyuhyun considered it.

The thing was, he couldn’t find a reason to disagree. He liked being warm, something he craved in fact.

He nearly made a joke, questioned if Zhou Mi always liked to cuddle after sex, questioning him. But it wouldn’t have gotten him what he wanted. A stony silence perhaps, and a man turned from him. That was the selfish part talking. Maybe he would have jested if he knew Zhou Mi would take it well, or if the thrall worked. Though it seemed cruel when Zhou Mi was offering him a kindness. Even he could see that.

But Zhou Mi’s skin was warm against his back, and he nearly purred. A warm arm slid over his side, thighs arranged against his. Fit together like two spoons, the warmer curled around the cooler one. He wanted to ask Zhou Mi again if he had been pleased. It wasn’t fair that he was being shown what he wanted. He could not keep Zhou Mi drained, warm, and in his bed indefinitely. Nor any human, come to that.

Kyuhyun could feel the sun rising, as Zhou Mi’s even breath, deeply asleep, stirred the hairs at the back of his neck. And Kyuhyun’s consciousness wobbled.

***

Kyuhyun had been true to his word. When Zhou Mi had woken in early afternoon, he’d dressed in his previously-filthy but thankfully clean clothes and rode home to wash and dress for another night of labor. It had been hard pulling himself from the warm blankets, especially with Kyuhyun cuddled up beside him. But that had been something that made him grin, the way Kyuhyun’s face had been a bit out of shape from the hand he had under it. He’d put the covers back carefully so that Kyuhyun wouldn’t get cold. He’d wake alone, but no human slept as long as a vampire.

Kyuhyun was dressed and ready to leave with him when he arrived, half an hour after full dark. Zhou Mi had eaten, and Kyuhyun rode beside him in comfortable silence.

The work was hard. In a dilapidated section of house that held the sanitarium, far from smells or anything to disrupt, they cleared old furniture and supplies out of an empty room. It was one with less plaster falling from the ceilings and walls from a roof leak who knew how many years before. But they were both covered in dust, and by the time it was mopped, Zhou Mi felt as though he had cleaned a whole house.

They chose the youngest patient, the teen they had seen on Kyuhyun’s first visit. He’d been bathed, wrapped in blankets. Kyuhyun’s thrall had been enough to calm him as his bed was wheeled down the hallway. Whatever notes Kyuhyun had sent before Zhou Mi arrived had worked, because a young vampire was let in. Young, in how long he had been a vampire, not in physical age. He looked about their age, but no names were exchanged. Kyuhyun leaned beside Zhou Mi, near the door. They watched as the vampire calmed the boy, crazed from the Euphoria, and ate. It made him glad that Kyuhyun was there, to step in if the vampire took too much.

By the time the vampire was done, the boy was asleep.

“Is that a good sign?” Zhou Mi asked.

“It could be,” Kyuhyun murmured.

The talk was technical and focused, as Dr. Lee was brought in to see the boy. Both he and Kyuhyun had questions for the vampire about the quality of the boy’s blood. But the one thing Zhou Mi took away was that the vampire had been able to taste a taint in the boy. And that was promising - because if the taint could be removed, then there was some hope of helping the others.

“Would you be willing to feed from him again?” Kyuhyun asked. “Tomorrow, ideally. And as many days as it takes. My friend here can compensate you with money.”

The vampire glanced at Zhou Mi, and looked back to Kyuhyun as though Zhou Mi had no say, no ability to speak for himself.

“I will. The blood is tainted, but good. I will accept your compensation.”

Zhou Mi had nearly sagged back against the wall in relief. They could at least _try_.

And when he’d quizzed Kyuhyun on him offering money before even asking him, Kyuhyun had laughed. “I knew you would offer him what he required, which isn’t much since he’s getting the blood. Besides, you still have the money left that you didn’t pay me.”

There had been no way to argue against that.

They’d done no other work that night, only Kyuhyun feeding from him in a deserted kitchen corner. The first time they’d done so standing, and the first night Kyuhyun hadn’t touched him.

“Go home, sleep,” Kyuhyun told, him, turning. “We’ll continue tomorrow. Twice.”

Zhou Mi had gone out, shaking his head and knowing that Kyuhyun would soon be bathing, relaxing. He half wished Kyuhyun had asked him to stay.

***

The next night was different. Zhou Mi had only just gotten his horse into a stall, turned the corner to approach the servant’s entrance.

A man stepped in front of him, stopping him short.

Adrenaline had his muscles tensing, body poised to defend himself, when he realized who it was. Changmin, who was looking at him with amusement.

“Good evening.”

“Good evening,” Zhou Mi said carefully. “You’ve seen Kyuhyun?”

“I have. I brought him information about your little quest. How old are you?”

The change in topic surprised him. “Old enough. Why?”

“Kyuhyun could be twice, three times your age, and you wouldn’t know. You _need_ to break the agreement with him.”

Again, Zhou Mi was startled. Changmin had taken a step forward, emphasizing his demand, and it set Zhou Mi’s teeth on edge.

“You are his friend, but I see no reason for you to make such a request of me. What are you afraid of? I’m not afraid. Kyuhyun is not.

“A month is a long time for two people to be entangled,” Changmin suggested, his tone delicate, as though he’d realized he’d come on too strong. “What if you were to fall in love with him?”

“This isn’t a bargain of emotion,” Zhou Mi retorted. “He gets to feed, and sate himself however he wants. In return, he helps me help those affected by the Euphoria. That is all.”

“Were you fond of taking risks as a child? Did you stick your hand in the fire after your mother told you it was hot?”

Zhou Mi laughed. “No. If anything, I was cautious.”

“What if he wanted to extend your bargain?”

“He said that doesn’t happen.”

Actually, Kyuhyun had been vehement about it. Thirty days, no more.

“I suppose it doesn’t, usually. But any guarantees he made you, disregard. Start to think of your own wellbeing, your own future. If you want to help those humans, then you need to be whole. Find another vampire, one who will bargain without blood.”

“Are you saying that Kyuhyun will hurt me?” Zhou Mi asked, brows raising. “Or do you bear some sort of prejudice against humans who are not weak in thrall to you? You cannot cajole me, or drive me to anger, so I am a danger?”

“To Kyuhyun. I saw him kissing you when I arrived the other day.”

“What damage could I do him? It was only a kiss. I’ve seen worse in the gambling houses. And you make no sense. One moment you threaten as though I’m in danger, and the next as though Kyuhyun is.”

He was done with the conversation. What reasons Changmin had for warning him off, he didn’t know. But he wasn’t going to listen to a moment more. He needed Kyuhyun, and Changmin knew that. Perhaps there was jealousy there, in Changmin, but it didn’t feel like it. It was not driven by feelings, but reason. But he rejected Changmin’s reasons, because he had no reason not to disbelieve what Kyuhyun had told him.

Changmin grabbed his arm before he could walk more than a couple of steps. “Do you think that being seen in the company of a vampire that many nights in a row would make you safe? He asked me to bring him the location of a vampire den. It isn’t safe there, not for him. Not for you.”

Zhou Mi stared down at Changmin’s hand, and then met his eyes. It was not bravado - he felt only that he could defend himself if necessary. In fact, there was a certain amount of fear in it. But he needed to know who his enemies were.

“Will the danger come from you?”

“No,” Changmin said. “I don’t harm humans. Not with my fists, and not with my blood. But you must break the contract.”

“I can’t.”

“You won’t.”

“The danger to me is worth it, if I am able to help people.” And Zhou Mi had his best point yet to make. “And I assume that Kyuhyun must have known of any such dangers you _hint_ at, before he offered me this deal. Perhaps you should speak to him.”

“I have. I hoped that you might have more sense. But apparently I was wrong. I do more than hint. You’d do well to heed me.”

“All it is is imaginary unless you tell me what you mean,” Zhou Mi shot back.

Changmin stepped to the corner, his hat in his hand. “You’ve never been afraid of what you can’t see in the dark?”

It was meant to be ominous, as Changmin left him there, but he very much thought Changmin underestimated him. Zhou Mi didn’t suppose many humans would agree to a month at a vampire’s whim, purely for— It hadn’t be entirely altruistic, no. He’d had a lot of reasons. But he suspected not many humans would anyway.

He was announced, let into the library where Kyuhyun was.

“News from the sanitarium?” Kyuhyun asked in lieu of greeting.

“The doctor said the boy is some improved, but still not in control of himself. We need more vampires, if he is improving.”

“The list of things we need is long.” Kyuhyun stood, stepping up to Zhou Mi. “Changmin was here earlier.”

“Yes, I know,” Zhou Mi said. “I saw him as I arrived.”

Kyuhyun’s eyebrows rose. “He was gone from me at least half an hour.”

“I suspect he wanted to have words with me. Does he urge you to break our agreement?”

“Every time he takes a breath when we’re alone,” Kyuhyun jested. “Why? What did he say?”

“I assume whatever he’s told you. It’s a danger to us, to me.” But when Kyuhyun’s face went dark, Zhou Mi reached for his shoulders. “He worries for you, is why he said anything I think. You shouldn’t be concerned.”

“I am concerned. A vampire meddling with another’s…meal…is highly taboo. I don’t like him threatening you. And I _will_ tell him that. The things he fears— That is why we agree to a month. Not a year. I won’t have you worrying needlessly. It makes the blood taste bad.”

Zhou Mi had to bite his lip to try to keep from smiling but it didn’t truly work. “Despite his objection to my presence, at least he’s still helping? He said he’d given you information of a vampire den.”

“He did. But before you suggest we go tonight, we can’t. Tomorrow, though. And there is preparation to be done.”

“All right. Can we find more vampires tonight?”

“Perhaps.” Kyuhyun reached out his hands, first sliding them over Zhou Mi’s hips and then poking them down into the cloth. “How deep are your pockets?”

“The organization can provide compensation,” Zhou Mi assured him. But Kyuhyun’s hands weren’t just there to prove a point. They had all night, and it seemed Kyuhyun was hungry.

***

Nothing Kyuhyun would say was changing Zhou Mi’s mind about going to the vampire den. He’d said it was unsafe, that it was better if Kyuhyun went first, alone, and tried to establish himself. Then, if he felt it was a good idea, Zhou Mi could accompany him. He’d been to vampire dens years before, and it wasn’t uncommon for a vampire to show up with his latest human conquest. It was a place for vampires to relax, trade news of which towns were unfriendly or if any vampires were causing trouble. They were topics relevant to the life of a vampire. But dens also served as a meal-finder of sorts. Humans that were paid to be there - however they were paid to be there - to be of service of the vampires looking to bite, or ones who were bored. He’d hinted at all those things to Zhou Mi, insinuating that it was dangerous. It wasn’t wholly unheard of for fights to break out, for a vampire to try and steal a human. With the thrall, it could be possible. Kyuhyun knew Changmin’s honor, and that was why he trusted him, but he wasn’t so certain of every vampire in the city. Some vampire dens were calmer than others, and the one Changmin had found was not of the highest quality. In other words, better to find word of Euphoria there, or so they thought.

“I could have gone alone before you arrived,” Kyuhyun argued. “You’d never find it on your own. You have two weeks left to feed me, and I won’t have you getting hurt.”

“You said that there were precautions to take so that no one would get hurt.”

“You realize precautions don’t mean a guarantee? I wouldn’t take up your cause crying over your grave.”

Zhou Mi smiled at the table he was using as a desk before looking up at Kyuhyun again. “You assume I’d have no successors? I’m not acting alone. This endeavor isn’t one entered into lightly or one I assumed would have no repercussions.”

“Then you’re telling me that the risk is acceptable.”

“If we’re able to get new information, of course. We don’t know for sure what the outcome will be, but it’s a possibility. And those chances have to be seized, because—“

“More bad things might happen, and the longer you wait the more bad things might happen, et cetera. Yes, I know.”

Though the way Zhou Mi was looking at him, his eyebrows raised with such an air of expectation, he thought that Zhou Mi understood and knew he did all along as well.

“You brought the clothes I asked?”

“I did,” Zhou Mi said.

Kyuhyun could tell he was close to edging out of his chair to get them, as soon as Kyuhyun gave the go-ahead. But he thought it was cute that Zhou Mi was trying not to be too eager, to force Kyuhyun’s hand maybe, or try to hide just how eager he was. As though that were possible.

“Get changed, then. And we’ll go together,” Kyuhyun said.

And Zhou Mi smiled at him, leaving, only to return dressed as though he worked in Kyuhyun’s stables. And it made Kyuhyun grin as he walked in to see Zhou Mi like that.

“How is it?” Zhou Mi asked, striking a pose.

“Close.”

Kyuhyun circled him, taking note of the too-long trousers, the scuffed boots. The shirt was clean, though worn. And Zhou Mi was blinking at him as Kyuhyun stepped forward and raised his hands. It took three good rubs, and half a screech, but Zhou Mi’s hair was thoroughly disordered, roughly falling over his forehead.

“Perfect.”

***

Zhou Mi felt strangely naked without his neckcloth, his jacket, his glasses, his earrings. He felt a bit blind, dependent, though perhaps that would make Kyuhyun happy considering how ferociously he was preparing Zhou Mi.

“You must behave as though you’re in thrall when I am touching you. You’ve seen humans when they are with vampires?”

“Yes.”

“It happens almost instantly,” Kyuhyun said, grabbing onto him as though to demonstrate. “You must pay attention to me immediately or the vampires will be suspicious. When you look at me, think of something you are very fond of. Soft.”

“Like a loyal pet,” Zhou Mi quipped, and Kyuhyun laughed at him.

“Yes, a bit.”

Zhou Mi stared down at where Kyuhyun was holding his arm. “It makes me glad I don’t feel that when you touch me. I would not feel equal to you, induced like that.”

“Vampires are not seeking equals, they’re looking to feed. Show me what you would do if I touched you in front of them.”

Kyuhyun sought no equal, and yet Zhou Mi was there. Kyuhyun trusted him to follow his orders, go with him to a place that Kyuhyun admitted could be dangerous. Kyuhyun spoke to him as though he were a grown man, without needing vampire tricks to win his compliance. Zhou Mi considered the thought of a month at Kyuhyun’s side, not truly in control of himself, and could not consider it. It would have been like trading part of himself away. At least as he was, he had defenses. It also allowed him to trust Kyuhyun as well - and know that Kyuhyun was telling him the truth, to keep him safe.

Zhou Mi deliberately softened his face. Think of something he was fond of, Kyuhyun had said. He thought of his horse, his friends. He thought of Kyuhyun bandaging his arm, pressing food to his lips. If Kyuhyun spoke of fondness—

Kyuhyun made a thoughtful sound, looking away almost as soon as Zhou Mi met his eyes. “That should do.”

***

Zhou Mi wasn’t sure what he was expecting. Just the words “vampire den” had inspired him to think up all sorts of different scenarios. In one, he imagined a bunch of vampires circled around naked humans just feasting away. Kyuhyun had laughed at him when he’d mentioned it. It happened, though the one they were going to was a bit different to the ones Kyuhyun had previously described. Sometimes he imagined them as little different than the gambling hells.

The main room was not large, filled with settees and banquettes meant, Zhou Mi assumed, for feeding and conversation. Zhou Mi kept his head close to Kyuhyun’s shoulder, keeping his glances lazy since Kyuhyun’s hand was on his wrist.

“I seek a place to rest,” Kyuhyun said. “And feast.”

Some kind of vampire code language.

The vampire who had greeted them, spoke. “This place is safe. Is there anything you…require?”

Yes, knowledge of the Euphoria. But Zhou Mi knew the vampire spoke only of humans to feed on or perhaps food for Kyuhyun’s human.

“That is all. May we rest freely?”

“There is no place reserved. Be at ease.”

“Thank you. Come.”

And Kyuhyun pulled Zhou Mi forward. Kyuhyun chose a corner banquette for them, strategic Zhou Mi knew. It allowed them a view without allowing someone to sneak up on them. It was Zhou Mi who was in the most danger, not Kyuhyun. Considering how little Changmin thought of their arrangement, he though Changmin would have no regrets to know that Zhou Mi would be at risk. Still, he had some relief in knowing that he was there with Kyuhyun, and not with Changmin. Kyuhyun at least had a vested interest in keeping Zhou Mi safe. As he rested down beside Kyuhyun on the rough cloth, probably filthy, he took a moment to look around. There were maybe seven other men. Most of those were vampires, but at least two were not because there was feeding happening across the room. He moved his eyes quickly from that, too intimate to be focused on for long. Maybe because of what he and Kyuhyun usually did, while feeding. And he had not forgotten Kyuhyun feeding from him, after allowing Kyuhyun to take. Or the night they’d slept most of the daylight away, with Kyuhyun against him. And that bothered him in some small way. What a difference it was, since the first time they had been together.

The adrenaline was coursing in him, because they were there. They were doing exactly what he’d come to Kyuhyun for. They were learning more. If not in this den, another. Every connection, every moment spent among vampires was a possibility.

“You’re breathing as though you’re going to jump up and start interrogating people,” Kyuhyun whispered against his ear. “Calm down. This is not something you can rush.”

He closed his eyes as Kyuhyun petted his face as though he were a dog. “I know.”

Kyuhyun pulled him closer, nudging his mouth against Zhou Mi’s jaw. “I’m going to feed, just a little. Remember, the thrall.”

So on their sides, Zhou Mi reached for him, angling his head so Kyuhyun could reach. And he sighed, tried not to wince at the momentary prickle that was Kyuhyun’s teeth in his skin.

He shuddered for Kyuhyun and Kyuhyun steadied him, the gentle movement of Kyuhyun’s lips against his skin. It seemed to last as long as a normal feeding, but it seemed that Kyuhyun was killing time. He could tell by the movement of Kyuhyun’s thumb against Zhou Mi’s shirt, rubbing rough circles as though to keep track of himself. And then Kyuhyun pulled away.

“Much better.”

“I’m glad,” Zhou Mi said softly, and hissed as Kyuhyun’s thigh slid between his.

“Turned on? I see. You like showing off in public?”

Zhou Mi spoke in hushed whisper. “No! No. I just— I’ve become accustomed to what we do when you feed.”

Kyuhyun’s eyes were dark in the light of the gas lamps. “So have I. They probably have rooms for that for rent. Not this time, I think.”

But Kyuhyun relaxed beside him for nearly an hour, watching as vampires came, and left. It was torture, in a way. He knew in each vampire’s head there could be knowledge that could help them, but he could do nothing to ask about it. However, knowing the location perhaps someone unrelated, a different human could find their way into being bitten, to ask for information. But it would be dangerous. He’d have to consider it, find the right person if that were even to be attempted. At least he had Kyuhyun to distract himself with, playing with part of Kyuhyun’s shirt and nuzzling into Kyuhyun’s stroking hand.

Zhou Mi blinked as he saw movement in one corner. A little stool and bare feet. At first he thought he might be hallucinating, but as the minutes wore on, he was certain. Eyes met his as though Zhou Mi’s stare could be felt, before closing tight.

“Can you hear me?” he breathed, his mouth as close as he could get it to Kyuhyun’s ear.

“Yes,” Kyuhyun whispered back, a chuckle following it as though the question was stupid. “Why?”

“Can any of the other vampires hear me?”

Kyuhyun muscled him back so they could see each other and Kyuhyun’s voice was low. “I know I survive on blood, but special senses are a bit much. I wouldn’t wish to have enhanced hearing. Can you imagine trying to sleep?”

He frowned deeply at Kyuhyun. He had just been checking.

But he shoved off Kyuhyun’s hands and leaned in again. “I had to be sure. There’s a _child_ in the corner above us.”

It took a moment and Kyuhyun responded. “Ah. That is something most do not speak of.”

“What are you saying?” Zhou Mi hissed, horrified. He’d been fighting one war, and starting to think there was another one he had never even heard of.

“It’s not as bad as what you’re thinking. There are some standards even among vampires. But to some they’re preferred for feeding. Even if they can’t be fed from as much as adults, it’s a matter of taste.”

Zhou Mi pulled back, meeting Kyuhyun’s eyes. “Can we help?”

“He’s a human.”

“Kyuhyun.”

“If you decide you want him, you have to buy him. And then you’ll have to come back tomorrow and buy the one they found to replace him.”

“He looks so frightened and so _young_.” And Zhou Mi gathered himself. “Maybe I can’t save _all_ of them, but I can’t leave here without trying to save the one in front of me.”

He could see the war in Kyuhyun’s eyes, but he could also see when the resignation hit. “We can try. _I_ can try. But you realize…you may be choosing the child tonight. We may find no other chance to ask about the reason we are here.”

That was regretful. But also necessary. “I know.”

“Then stay quiet, follow me. And any money I spend, you pay back—“

Kyuhyun’s next words were lost against Zhou Mi’s mouth. There had been no guarantee that Kyuhyun would even consider helping, so he was thankful, and he wanted to show it. The whole reason they were there, was because Kyuhyun had arranged it. No matter what they found out, they could try to help the child.

He wondered at the expression in Kyuhyun’s eyes as their lips parted, something quiet and a bit dazed.

“Thank you,” Zhou Mi whispered, cupping his cheek.

“Don’t thank me yet,” Kyuhyun warned.

Zhou Mi followed Kyuhyun meekly, as Kyuhyun waved over the proprietor and the three of them approached the boy.

“How much?” Kyuhyun asked.

“To feed—“

“No, to buy. My pet here has an interest to see me feed—”

Zhou Mi stopped listening. He didn’t want to hear himself being called a pet, or the negotiations that were happening. If he could show interest, then perhaps it would help Kyuhyun’s suit.

The boy’s eyes were huge, frightened. He flinched at Zhou Mi’s touch, as though it hurt him, or he expected it to hurt him. Zhou Mi wondered how many times he’d been approached just like that, fearing being bitten. Feeding on children like they were some desirable vintage of wine.

He bared his teeth, saying softly, “I’m human.”

The cringing didn’t stop, and Zhou Mi wanted to curse. Clearly the child had no reason to trust humans as well. Or perhaps he had seen Zhou Mi approach him with a vampire. He’d probably heard all manner of sweet words to calm him down, all manner of promises that were instantly broken.

But he rubbed gently at the child’s hand, too small against his palm. He didn’t know how old the boy was, even. He could be smaller than his age due to malnutrition, but he was well past toddling age. That was something that could be found out after, as well as if he had parents. It made him think of the boy in the sanitarium, the one who was still being bitten daily to see if it would help to heal him. He’d once been someone’s little boy, too.

Kyuhyun’s hand slid onto his neck, and Zhou Mi inclined his head toward Kyuhyun, smiling. Let them believe that as thrall.

“Are you sure you want him?” Kyuhyun asked, sounding skeptical. And Zhou Mi knew it was not for Zhou Mi’s benefit, but for the man he was negotiating with.

“Please?”

The boy’s hand trembled in his, trying to jerk away, and Zhou Mi held tight. He wanted it to be done, wanted to pick the child up and walk out the door. If they didn’t agree, he thought he would do it anyway. Heft the child, and run. He hadn’t been born with long legs for nothing.

Kyuhyun made a sound of approval, and that was that.

“We won’t buy him back,” the vampire warned.

“There won’t be anything to get back,” Kyuhyun promised.

And the deal was struck.

“No,” the boy said as Zhou Mi reached for him. And though it pained him, he hauled the protesting boy into his arms.

“It’s all right, I won’t hurt you,” he crooned.

“Much,” one of the vampires laughed behind him. And Zhou Mi hid his expression in the suddenly lax child’s shoulder. He’d been traumatized, but no longer.

“Your human has expensive tastes.”

He only heard Kyuhyun’s words, not the expression, as Kyuhyun said, “Yes, and he tastes expensive as well.”

“The boy tastes good, too,” a vampire nearly as tall as Zhou Mi said, coming to stand beside him. The child trembled in Zhou Mi’s arms as Zhou Mi looked up. “I won’t be so generous with my gifts, but if you’re still wanting the bite when he’s through with you…”

The vampire was licking his lips lewdly as he touched Zhou Mi’s face, and Zhou Mi shuddered and leaned into the touch. It was meant to mimic the thrall, but it was pure revulsion. Even the thought of being bitten by the vampire touching him was making his skin crawl. He knew not all vampires were like Kyuhyun, and he’d turned down offers before Kyuhyun to be bitten. It wasn’t that none of them had been attractive, or that their offers hadn’t appealed. None of them had been right, and very few of them had been as openly disgusting in displaying their want.

The hand was jerked off of Zhou Mi’s face, as Zhou Mi opened his eyes to see Kyuhyun holding the vampire’s arm.

“Don’t touch,” Kyuhyun warned.

“Don’t worry,” the vampire said, undisturbed by Kyuhyun’s territorial display. “I won’t take your human while you’re biting him. I was just saying if he wanted some more after. Humans are getting peculiar these days. They all want more. Used to be the bite and a little play in bed was enough. Now they want gifts like yours does, and blood of their own.”

Kyuhyun’s hand squeezed tight on Zhou Mi’s side, urging him to be quiet.

“I heard of that. What would make a vampire desperate enough to give a human his blood? Why is the thrall not enough?”

“I know. I heard some desperate vampires are paid to open a vein, but…” The vampire leaned closer to Kyuhyun and the child sobbed into Zhou Mi’s neck. “I hear some vampires, they take their blood by force. They sell it, you know? So if they don’t get enough, they take it anyway.”

Zhou Mi’s stomach was twisting, and he had to bite his tongue not to ask the questions that were boiling in him, or yelp at how tightly Kyuhyun was holding him to tell him not to speak.

“Is there something being done to stop it?” Kyuhyun asked. “Vampire blood isn’t meant to be eaten. Won’t it be a danger to us?”

The vampire shrugged. “We look out for ourselves.”

“We might be forced to look out for each other, if too much blood is given,” Kyuhyun mused. “Though…is it cheaper than buying children to feed from?”

The vampire shared an amused look with him. “It might be.”

Kyuhyun smiled, and pushed Zhou Mi away. “Go to the door and wait for me.”

As though Kyuhyun didn’t want him to hear how to find the Euphoria. Still, he hummed and cuddled the boy near the door, keeping an eye out to make sure no other vampires were approaching him. Wary was all he could be, with Kyuhyun’s warnings hanging over his head.

Kyuhyun approached him no more than a minute later, inclining his head toward the door. “Time to take my new meal home.”

There was laughter from those who could hear, or who cared, and Zhou Mi caught the eye of one vampire sending them very judging looks as though what they were doing was distasteful.

And it was, had it been anyone other than them.

Zhou Mi climbed quickly into the waiting carriage and Kyuhyun rapped the front to let the driver know they could go immediately after the door was shut behind them. And even then, they waited in silence for a minute as though someone could still be listening.

“They thought we were murderers, or worse.”

“I don’t think there is worse,” Zhou Mi replied. And he spoke to the child, then. “Are you hungry? Would you like something to eat when we get home? Or perhaps a clean bed.”

“A bath,” Kyuhyun muttered. “He likely has fleas.”

“He’s not a stray puppy,” Zhou Mi retorted.

“No, not a puppy. But he’s still filthy.”

“How much do I owe you?”

Kyuhyun stared at him from his shoes to the top of his head. “We’ll discuss it later. You weren’t listening?”

“I didn’t care how much, as long as you were able to do it.”

“Lucky for me,” Kyuhyun chuckled.

Zhou Mi just shook his head, and petted the child’s hair.

“You’re safe,” Zhou Mi told the boy. “Truly safe. We’ll feed you, and no one will hurt you. Are your parents alive?”

“Yes,” the boy said with a wavering voice before he broke down in tears, sobbing loudly into Zhou Mi’s shoulder.

Kyuhyun sighed, and looked away, and Zhou Mi just continued rubbing the child’s back.

And then he looked up again. “The other vampire, he told you where you could buy Euphoria?”

“Yes,” Kyuhyun said. “But it is undoubtedly just a seller. Not the place they keep supplies. That is even more secretive.”

“But he said…He also said vampires were being forced to give blood. They’re being attacked for it?”

Kyuhyun nodded. “Had your research told you anything like that?”

“We’d discussed it, but we’d never had proof of it. I assume if vampires were being attacked, they wouldn’t want to spread that information around.”

“You assume correctly,” Kyuhyun mused. “That wouldn’t be something they would be proud of. And unless whoever was attacking them told them why, they might not know, unless they really knew what was happening.”

“And some would care and some wouldn’t.”

Kyuhyun nodded, face grim in the occasionally light that illuminated his face as the carriage kept carrying them toward Kyuhyun’s home.

***

The child was indeed filthy, hungry, and exhausted. After they’d fetched a maid to help bathe him, he began falling asleep over the soup that Zhou Mi was trying to spoon into his mouth. Perhaps he was still afraid, but his body was overwhelming that. He’d been tucked in bed, with the maid bid to stay there and watch over him in case he woke. They did not need a child wandering Kyuhyun’s home on his own in the daylight hours that were soon approaching. Kyuhyun would be fast asleep, and Zhou Mi felt as though he could sleep until the next night if he were given leave to.

But Kyuhyun hadn’t finished eating, and there was that. And Zhou Mi hadn’t forgotten the bite at the vampire den, and how it had made him feel. Perhaps he was associating the bite with pleasure. Zhou Mi stripped out of his borrowed clothes, using a basin of water to wash a little of the itch from his skin from being in that place. He was drying his face as Kyuhyun emerged from the bathing room as well. With one light burning on the bedside table, they both slid beneath the covers, facing each other.

“We have a place to start from,” Kyuhyun mused as he began to run his hand over Zhou Mi’s skin. “If that vampire’s information brings us little, I will find another den, and go alone. What I cannot find from the vampires, I might be able to find from the humans who service them. I can rent one, speak to them. That is another—“

“No,” Zhou Mi said.

Kyuhyun blinked at him. “What do you mean, no? You’re the one—“

“Rent a human? You would feed from them?”

The laugh started soft, and rocked Kyuhyun’s body as it grew. “No. No, I see. This agreement is for the two of us. I would not bite the human. I would use a bribe.”

“You moved that vampire’s hand away from me.”

“Yes,” Kyuhyun agreed, grabbing Zhou Mi’s jaw and tilting his head closer. “Because you are mine. For two more weeks, at least. No one else should touch you.”

“And you are mine,” Zhou Mi stated, feeling quite equitable about it. “I shouldn’t like to imagine some other human with you when I know you would be returning to me.”

“Only talk and further your cause. The thrall will do everything.”

Zhou Mi stayed still as he heard more than saw Kyuhyun uncap the oil. He was too busy rubbing his lips against Kyuhyun’s jaw. The touch of Kyuhyun’s fingers was cool, and as Kyuhyun’s fingers pressed into Zhou Mi, he inhaled. His body gave. His body wanted. He was too used to Kyuhyun’s touch, to Kyuhyun’s need, to protest. He knew what pain there was, he would like it. It was revelation. And Kyuhyun had given him everything that night. Everything he had asked for and more.

“No other humans.”

“No human would want me like you do,” Kyuhyun told him. “You want to be fucked? You want me to bite you?”

“Yes. Please.”

Zhou Mi pulled Kyuhyun over him, not caring that he was begging. The sooner Kyuhyun was in him, the sooner the pleasure began. His legs spread wide, begging Kyuhyun’s hips. And he moaned as Kyuhyun sank into him. He saw Kyuhyun’s eyes in the den as they stared at each other, as they had kissed. He drew Kyuhyun’s head down, moaning against his lips as he pulled Kyuhyun into him. It was all he wanted, for Kyuhyun to take him right then, to touch him, to feel his tongue tracing Zhou Mi’s lips.

“Please more. Please don’t stop. Kyuhyun. Please.”

Kyuhyun silenced all but his moans with his mouth, his hands so busy rubbing Zhou Mi’s chest, his shoulders and sides. Pressing Zhou Mi’s thighs wide or bending them up, or wrapping them close as they rode desperate together.

Their lips parted only in desperation, Zhou Mi gasping in air as his heart thundered and his fingers almost idly stroking himself as pleasure pinned him. But Kyuhyun wasn’t still, kissing Zhou Mi’s neck and roughening the pounding of his hips until Zhou Mi’s eyes closed to try and contain it all. He was so close, knees tight against Kyuhyun’s ribs and his pleas were wordless gasps and moans.

“You like the bite?” Kyuhyun rasped.

“Yes. I like it. Kyuhyun. Oh! Oh. Please. Please. Kyuhyun. Close.”

Kyuhyun reached between them as his teeth sank home, and Zhou Mi came over his fingers as Kyuhyun fed, and rutted, and came for him.

“Look at me. Look at me,” Kyuhyun ordered. Slowly, Zhou Mi focused on him, on the red smear beside Kyuhyun’s mouth. Usually he was too fastidious for that. It made Zhou Mi want to kiss his mouth clean. “Did you speak the truth? You like the bite?”

Zhou Mi nodded slowly, not sure why Kyuhyun was so insistent. “I do. I enjoy it. You make it…enjoyable.”

However inane that sounded. He’d just been inundated with pleasure. His brain was still catching up.

The tension went out of Kyuhyun’s shoulders, and Zhou Mi reached out an arm, steadying him as he stretched out beside Zhou Mi on the bed.

“The boy should sleep, and the maid will see to him. You should stay, in case he wakes and is frightened. He should have someone familiar to greet him.”

“Yes, I’ll stay. Thank you,” Zhou Mi said. And he pressed kisses along Kyuhyun’s cheek, settling close. He pressed another kiss to Kyuhyun’s mouth, feeling it returned. He had no intention of leaving Kyuhyun’s side.

***

Zhou Mi had slid into a deep sleep, his breath hot and even against Kyuhyun’s neck. It should have made him fall asleep right away, that warmth. On his mind was Zhou Mi’s wildness. His moans, his gasps. The cries when Kyuhyun had turned him, taken him. Uninhibited, given entirely to pleasure and Kyuhyun’s hands. It was as though a light had been lit inside Zhou Mi, spurred by Kyuhyun’s willingness to help him. He wanted to wake Zhou Mi, see if the fire was still there. What he’d undoubtedly get was a sleepy man wanting to cuddle. It was another side of Zhou Mi he had not expected. Gratitude, emotion.

It nagged in the back of his mind, until he fell asleep.

***


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The streets of Zhou Mi's city are being contaminated with a new drug - Euphoria. Pure vampire blood, it causes a high unlike any other, but when the high fades, the nightmares begin. It is the spread of Euphoria that Zhou Mi fights, and in that fight he needs a partner to get him to places and people that only a vampire can.

***

The child, who still would not tell them his name, was weighing on Zhou Mi’s mind. Victoria, the maid who had been tasked to look after him had bonded with him well, it seemed, and Zhou Mi had been apologetic about that.

“I meant to take him to my home,” Zhou Mi said, when Kyuhyun woke and made his way downstairs. “But the thought of leaving her seemed to…upset him.”

“Was that the screaming that roused me?” Kyuhyun mused wryly, taking his seat at his desk.

Not more wry than the expression on Zhou Mi’s face, though.

“It seemed he’d been bitten by female vampires too, but less of them, so he’s more inclined to trust a woman. He shrank back when I went to see him when I woke. But he does have an older sister. He said that much. I told her that she could direct the staff to buy any food or supplies for him that was needed, that I would repay you.”

Kyuhyun nodded, having expected as much. “That’s fine.”

That was why he had staff. Maybe being woken to screaming mid-sleep had been disconcerting, but he hadn’t had to do anything about it. Once he’d recognized the timbres of the screams were not of a servant, or of Zhou Mi, he’d relaxed. He put aside the fact that Zhou Mi had been his first thought, immediate and fearful, like a hand around his throat. It had guided his steps down the stairs a little quicker than usual, not knowing if Zhou Mi was still there, but gratified and relieved to see him relaxed in one of the plush chairs.

It was a child in the house, not a murderer, and Zhou Mi could look out for himself. The sanitarium was far and away more dangerous than Kyuhyun’s house. He much preferred Zhou Mi there, actually. He had never been able to quite shake the feeling that one night Zhou Mi had shown up late.

If Zhou Mi was killed or horrifically wounded before their contracted ended, he figured he wouldn’t be blamed for being more than a little angry.

Because of what Zhou Mi was providing to him, of course.

And then he noted the food sitting at Zhou Mi’s elbow.

“Was the food for the boy, or you?” he asked.

“Both of us,” Zhou Mi told him, voice light. “I’ll spend some more time with him tonight and tomorrow. And then perhaps, take him on a drive, see if he recognizes places around town. Though he’s too distraught right now, and distrusting, that I don’t think he would know. Perhaps he has parents.”

“You think he might have been kidnapped?” Kyuhyun sighed, leaning back. “Not like he would have wandered up and offered to be bitten. But that sounds fine. Let him trust you.”

“I thought maybe to bring him down, let him see the library, and spend a little time in our presence.”

Kyuhyun stared at Zhou Mi. There was no guile in that face, but Kyuhyun wasn’t sure why he felt he should be seeing something there.

“Why?”

“He knows this is a vampire’s house. I couldn’t hide that from him. I think if he sees you, sees you working like any human, perhaps he will relax. It might mean he won’t think I’m softening him up, so that you can have your fill of him.”

Kyuhyun grimaced at the thought. “I can’t imagine. I like my meals far more robust, and long-limbed.”

Which had nothing to do with the quality of the blood, but on that score, Zhou Mi qualified utterly.

“Perhaps after he is in his bed,” Zhou Mi suggested, his glance telling.

Yes, yet another reason for them to delay feeding. Though it wasn’t as simple as feeding, and he knew that. He could have walked to Zhou Mi, taken a seat in his lap, and fed until satisfied. But he knew if he took Zhou Mi upstairs, it could be hours before they emerged again.

But he knew there were things to accomplish, that hours away - even very pleasant hours - would not assist with.

“When—“ Kyuhyun began, and stopped as the sound of the outer door being knocked on sounded. “That is Changmin.”

He’d know that knock anywhere.

“Oh? Do you think he’s here to see how the visit to the den went? Did he know we were going last night?”

“I guess we’ll find out.”

Changmin, as per usual, came striding into the library without being announced, and Kyuhyun had to nod away the footman who looked both a bit panicked and exasperated. Changmin was an entity unto himself.

“Do you know of the Choi family? They work in…vampire containment?” Changmin asked Zhou Mi, who had stood out of politeness and who was clearly taken aback by Changmin’s lack of greeting.

“I…” Zhou Mi’s voice trailed off. “Yes, actually. Overtures were made at one point to see if they had any assistance to lend, and the man who asked was turned away. Why?”

“I have one outside. Or rather, there is one in a fortified carriage outside. I was approached tonight because of my inquiries into the den and Euphoria, and felt it best to direct any such information-gathering efforts in your direction.”

“I’m glad to speak to anyone if they might be able to help,” Zhou Mi said. “Will they come in?”

His house was Zhou Mi’s house, it seemed. Ordering the servants, inviting people in.

“I will have the footman relay the message,” Changmin said. “She’s a bit skittish around vampires. Would only talk to me through a little window.”

“She?” Kyuhyun asked to a room that contained only him and the still-standing Zhou Mi. “Have you met them? These Chois?”

“Not myself,” Zhou Mi said. “I wasn’t chosen for that. I’ve heard of them, of course.”

“Me too. It isn’t something that would keep most vampires in line, but knowing they exist does put a pause toward evil.”

They heard the doors open again, and that time, Kyuhyun stood as well, coming around to stand in Zhou Mi’s general vicinity. Not exactly a united front, but somewhat. The woman who came through behind Changmin, and very obviously keeping Changmin ahead of her, was unlike what he expected. Her dress was a dark purple, almost black, and she was fairly tall for a woman. He could see she also had every exit in the room committed to memory, how many people there were. A cautious person.

Though with two vampires in the room, he could imagine why.

“Thank you for seeing me, gentlemen,” she said. “My name is Sooyoung. I am part of the Choi family.”

And that needed no clarification.

“Thank you for meeting us,” Zhou Mi said, stepping forward to greet her properly. “My name is Zhou Mi. I am human.”

“I’ve heard of you,” she said, letting him take her gloved hand. “You are part of the group fighting the Euphoria.”

Zhou Mi nodded. “That is correct.”

“Have you had much success?”

“I—“ Zhou Mi remembered his manners. “You have met Changmin. This is Kyuhyun, a vampire also. He has been helping me in the effort to stop Euphoria distribution and also in helping to heal those afflicted.”

Kyuhyun nodded, in lieu of stepping forward. He wasn’t sure how Sooyoung would take being approached.

“Welcome to my home. Please, sit if you like.”

After the three men in the room had taken their seats, only then did Sooyoung sit, barely perching on a chair. He glanced to his right, to see if Zhou Mi was reacting to any of it, but Zhou Mi’s face was impassive, politely interested. It was his business face. Kyuhyun knew it well, as it was the same face Zhou Mi had worn when they met.

“You’re cautious,” Kyuhyun said, taking in her gloves that went from fingertips, all the way up past the sleeves of her gown.

“Past dealings with vampires have left my family with that need,” she said.

“But you leave your neck bare,” Changmin said, and he leaned closer, almost as though he was seeing if he could unnerve her. Kyuhyun could see Zhou Mi shifting beside him, wondering what would happen. “Don’t you think it would be a temptation?”

“Thrall is not something a vampire can help,” Sooyoung said, meeting Changmin’s eyes without flinching. “But there are other ways to deal with a vampire who bites without permission.”

Zhou Mi’s lips twitched and Changmin’s eyebrows rose, and Kyuhyun thought he ought to intervene before there was a brawl of words before they could even seek why Sooyoung was there, much less ask for her.

“Perhaps a swat with a rolled up newspaper would be appropriate,” Changmin joked quietly.

“You think that it’s funny? As a vampire you hold _all_ the power. Are the humans you are trying to help simply playthings to you?”

“Please,” Changmin said, holding out his hand but stopping short of touching her. “I was wrong to say that. I have never bitten a human against their will, and find it deplorable. I did not become a vampire by choice. It’s not something we forget. Please forgive me.”

Sooyoung’s head inclined, accepting the apology, though Kyuhyun didn’t know if she believed it. He knew, knowing Changmin, that the jest hadn’t been meant badly. But it had not been a good thing to say, or even imply they believed. They had their own honor to think of, and vampires like that did nothing good for them, or for anyone else.

“I can’t claim to know all humans, but for us at least, it is the humans who hold power,” Kyuhyun said, and reached to touch Zhou Mi in emphasis of that.

“You say that, as you touch him,” Sooyoung said, staring at where Kyuhyun’s hand had come to rest on Zhou Mi’s neck.

“The thrall has no power on me,” Zhou Mi told her. “So he speaks the truth. I do hold power over him. But only because he has no power over me.”

“I have heard of people whom the thrall does not affect. And there are rumors of a way to create that effect in humans. Only no vampire will divulge it.”

She sent a scathing look up and down Changmin, as though he were the representation of all of those vampires.

“Nor will you ever find one who will part his lips to speak it,” Changmin said, eyeing her back. “We have work to be done.”

“How would you punish a vampire that is biting rogue?” Zhou Mi asked, voice curious, and the only one of the three of them who could ask without drawing her ire.

“A knife would do. If they would not learn, then… Perhaps something worse.”

“There is no danger to you here,” Zhou Mi told her gently.

She smiled back at him. “You’re a man. I appreciate the thought, but there is danger everywhere. I am just better prepared than most.”

Kyuhyun wondered how many sharp knives she had tucked away in her pretty bodice. And how many of those could kill him.

“I originally sought your…friend here, because I had heard he was inquiring into vampire dens. He says it was for you?” Sooyoung asked.

“Yes,” Zhou Mi said. “You asked how the fight against Euphoria was faring. And the truth is, we know a little more about it. It is ironically the vampires that are both cause and cure. It seems the bite of a vampire, over successive bites, cleans the blood of Euphoria’s taint. Though we don’t know how early we must catch it before true healing is attained.”

“These vampires here are biting them?”

They were reduced to creatures without names, it seemed, and Changmin sent him a look to say he had noticed as well. But he stayed quiet, letting Zhou Mi continue.

“No. Changmin is helping us with information. Kyuhyun is also helping. He found the vampires we are urging to bite the victims. It is because of him that I was able to find out anything about a den at all.”

“But he is biting you, is he not? You would trade your blood for these people?”

“I would trade more than that,” Zhou Mi said. “We went to the den together. We actually rescued a human child that was being held there to be bitten, and learned more about how Euphoria might be entering the market. Vampires—“

“Then you know where this den is?” Sooyoung asked.

But at the same time Changmin thundered, “A human child? Oh, no need to ask for its location, my lady. These two have seen to that. The removal of the child would have meant another secure location would be found.”

Sooyoung looked at him. “How would you know that?”

“Two previously unknown patrons show up and buy a human before they leave? Knowing the human laws well, if they did not move, then they are far more trusting than any vampire or human I have known.”

That seemed to satisfy her.

“Have you heard of vampires being attacked on the streets? Being cut or bled?” Kyuhyun asked, knowing Zhou Mi revealing their exciting news had been cut off.

“No,” Sooyoung said. “Though vampires rarely come to us with complaints about things like that.”

“It’s possible that the Euphoria is not a vampire in some back room bleeding himself. It’s possible other vampires are being attacked, their blood used as a commodity for sale. Because it would be a hit to pride, and because of our fast healing, we might not have heard of this.”

Sooyoung hummed. “That’s interesting. An interesting thought. We have been trying in our own ways to find where it is being distributed. Or ideally, kept. It does no good to cut off one of Hydra’s heads.”

“Exactly,” Zhou Mi agreed eagerly. “That is my ideal as well. It is not a quick fight, but much can be done to prevent its success.”

She stood, and Zhou Mi was the only one who stood immediately with her.

“It has been most enlightening, gentlemen. Now that I know you are not searching for vampire dens for dangerous purposes, I have no further need of your time.”

“Oh, please,” Zhou Mi said, stepping forward. “Is there anything you know, anything that would help us fight the Euphoria? If there was some way to pool our knowledge…?”

“No, not that I know of,” Sooyoung said. But after a moment, her expression softened. “If you do need help, if you find where the Euphoria is kept, or have questions, though, please do find me. I will help you however I can. Use this card, and you will be allowed in. Only you.”

Zhou Mi took the proffered card, all politeness. “Thank you.”

“I will see myself out. Good evening, gentlemen.”

“Why do I feel like she means that ironically in our case?” Kyuhyun murmured at Changmin.

“That was most enlightening,” Changmin commented back, in the same manner. The outer door closed, and Changmin’s eyes turned sharp. “But honestly, Kyuhyun? A child? Do you know how hard it was to find that den to begin with?”

“Talk to him,” Kyuhyun said, pointing at Zhou Mi before walking back around his desk. “He’s the one who wouldn’t leave without hauling the child with us.”

“He’s just a child!” Zhou Mi protested, still cradling Sooyoung’s card. “We couldn’t have left him there to be bitten.”

“He was still alive, wasn’t he?” Changmin asked, before sighing. “You let him talk you into— All right. I understand. But if I find you another, there had better be no children there. I’ll be back.”

Changmin left in a huff, and that made Kyuhyun smile.

“That was more excitement than I’d anticipated,” Kyuhyun said. “And oh goody, now the boy comes down?”

“As soon as I catch my breath,” Zhou Mi laughed.

***

Changmin came back, not an hour after the next sunset. It was fine, Kyuhyun thought, at least until Changmin said he had no new information and then sat for hours as relaxed as could be. It made him want to grind his teeth, as he glared at Changmin over his desk. There was some ulterior motive. Perhaps keeping him from feeding on Zhou Mi, as though propriety would keep him from abandoning his guest. It could, but only for a little while. He’d become accustomed to more than just a nibble, and Zhou Mi had dressed nicely that night, sitting not far from Changmin.

Still, it put an annoyed twitch in Kyuhyun’s step as he went to meet with his staff.

He heard Changmin’s voice when he was returning, a lower timbre than usual, as though he were trying to seduce.

He half slapped the door open, seeing Changmin with Zhou Mi’s hand in his and lowering it from his lips.

“Kyuhyun, perhaps I could make use of your desk?” Zhou Mi chattered, standing.

Kyuhyun wondered if he was grasping the opportunity to get away, or if he felt shamed by it. He didn’t much care either way. But putting himself at Kyuhyun’s desk put a very physical barrier between himself and Changmin, and that Kyuhyun very much approved of.

“It's a clumsy way of trying to make me jealous. I wonder if he knows he's going about it the wrong way.”

Zhou Mi stared at him. “What do you mean?”

“He needs to help more than me if he wants you to drop your pants.”

That at least had Zhou Mi laughing, and Kyuhyun wasn’t even bothering to look at Changmin.

“Though I hear he kisses well.”

“Haven't you kissed him?” Zhou Mi asked, sharp as always.

“I told you that was a long time ago.”

Zhou Mi hummed. “Still. If it matters, if I had my choice, I'd choose you.”

Zhou Mi turned from him and walked to the desk, leaving him in full sight of Changmin. Not just that, but Changmin saw his face. He knew that because of Changmin’s quiet, “Oh fuck, Kyuhyun.”

It wasn’t what Changmin thought. Changmin was conjuring up something in his head where Kyuhyun was beginning to think of Zhou Mi as his somehow, proprietary, and for more than just what they’d agreed on. But Kyuhyun felt pleasure, pride even, to know that Zhou Mi would choose him over Changmin. That was it.

“You should go. You’re just taking up space here, and we have work to do,” Kyuhyun told Changmin.

“I wonder how much work you actually get up to,” Changmin drawled. “How much time do you spend in bed?”

Zhou Mi made a sound, and Kyuhyun scowled.

“That has nothing to do with you. And we do work, every night.”

“Then give me something to do while I’m here. I’m sure Zhou Mi has something.”

Kyuhyun groaned.

“What if I gave you something to do away from the house?” Zhou Mi asked, reading Kyuhyun’s mind.

“Oh, anything. As long as you left with me,” Changmin told Zhou Mi.

As though that was going to happen.

“I think I hear the boy,” Kyuhyun said, which had Zhou Mi on his feet and out the door immediately.

“What are you up to?” Kyuhyun asked Changmin.

“Nothing. Just that I think that the less time he spends in your bed, the better. And this little scene tonight confirmed it.”

“You don’t understand,” Kyuhyun said.

Changmin eyed him, as though Kyuhyun had just called him stupid. “I understand perfectly.”

“I could bar you entrance to the house.”

It was somewhat of an empty threat, and Changmin laughed.

“You would be barring Zhou Mi from my help, and we both know that’s what he needs. He’s so self-sacrificing that he gives you blood in return for your help. Would he trade not having sex with you, in return for help from me?”

The sound from Kyuhyun’s throat was pure anger. “He has already agreed with me. He is bound by that contract.”

“Contracts can be amended.”

“Damn you.”

“I am trying to help you, Kyuhyun.”

“I didn’t ask for your help,” Kyuhyun said, pushing himself up. “I know what I’m doing.”

Changmin stood with him. “I have never seen you this off balance because of a human before. Sometimes you almost treat him as an equal. If he knew—“

Kyuhyun’s fist rapped hard against Changmin’s chest. “You tell him nothing. Do you understand? You’ve made him question enough already. We’re bound to a month and no more, and half of that is gone.”

“Why do I have more faith in his ability to walk away than in you?” Changmin said softly. Softly, because the sound of Zhou Mi descending the stairs was so distinctive.

Kyuhyun warned him to silence with his eyes, and Zhou Mi wisely said nothing as he came in, sitting at Kyuhyun’s desk and every so often glancing up at Kyuhyun as though to ask if everything was all right.

Changmin said nothing, even though Kyuhyun kept asking if it was time for him to leave. And finally he did leave, with as little time to get home before the sun rose as was possible Kyuhyun suspected.

“Upstairs,” Kyuhyun bit out, even before Changmin had left. It jerked Zhou Mi out of the stupor he’d fallen into, half asleep already. Kyuhyun had so much anger left in him that he tore Zhou Mi’s shirt getting it off of him, frustrating clawing at him.

“Kyuhyun,” Zhou Mi said, touching Kyuhyun’s face. “We have time.”

Too much time, if Changmin was the one being consulted. He could feel the weight of the sun almost rising as he slid into Zhou Mi. He wanted. He wanted and there was a man there beneath him who wanted, too. A man whose blood fed life into him, who gave him that blood willingly. Zhou Mi stroked along his back and Kyuhyun murmured and fed and rocked. Comfort, want, and satiation.

He’d taken his fill, as the sun rose and he murmured his complaint into Zhou Mi’s neck. He’d never fallen asleep during sex before. He was supposed to be making Zhou Mi want to pass out from the pleasure.

But his limbs weren’t working quite right. So tired.

“Let me help,” Zhou Mi told him.

And Kyuhyun didn’t know how. If Zhou Mi wanted to fuck him instead, he was going to be doing it to an unconscious man. But Zhou Mi rolled him onto his side, and then his back, and he inhaled at the firm grip of Zhou Mi’s hand along his erection. Instead of the slow slide he’d been taking as his body slowed, Zhou Mi’s hand was quick, and firm, and fast.

“You can take me twice tonight,” Zhou Mi whispered in his ear. “Or your mouth. I like that. Come for me, Kyuhyun, so you can rest.”

And with a tiny grunt, he did. Heat infused his bones, and pleasure spread as Zhou Mi’s lips pressed against his face.

And he slept, deep.

***

Zhou Mi did not blame Kyuhyun for nearly falling asleep on top of him. He knew they’d been interrupted by Changmin. Just as he knew that Kyuhyun hadn’t been alone in wanting Changmin to leave them. Finishing himself had been no great trial, nor had cleaning Kyuhyun so he would sleep easier, or crawling in beside him. He could have chosen a different room, apart from Kyuhyun, and Kyuhyun would have had no reason to argue. But he found Kyuhyun’s even breaths to be soothing, and he liked knowing he brought warmth that Kyuhyun would otherwise lack.

But there had been no chance to finish what they had begun that morning, because by the time that Kyuhyun had woken, Zhou Mi had coaxed their ward downstairs. Jinyong, his name was, and he had parents, as well as two older sisters, and two older brothers, and several younger as well. He didn’t know his age, though Zhou Mi guessed him to be about five, and several days of quiet visits and bringing him little sweets had paid off, in that Jinyong tucked his hand in Zhou Mi’s and went with him to explore the house at long last. He didn’t say anything about the plot to find Jinyong’s parents, in hopes of not upsetting him or giving him too much hope. But if they could get him comfortable out of his room, then perhaps the next day Zhou Mi could take him in the carriage to see what they could find.

But the child that raced around the room to touch anything shiny, came back to Zhou Mi, shy and afraid, when Kyuhyun entered. Perhaps he recognized Kyuhyun from that night.

“This is Kyuhyun. He is a vampire. Kyuhyun, you remember Jinyong?”

“I do,” Kyuhyun said. “How are you this evening?”

Jinyong tucked his head against Zhou Mi’s hip and would not speak.

“He won’t hurt you. He bites me, and me only,” Zhou Mi said, petting Jinyong’s hair as he crouched down to be at his level. “You can see the marks. See? And a vampire only bites one person at a time. So when he’s hungry, he’ll only bite me.”

“Vampires bit all the humans there,” Jinyong said, staring at Zhou Mi with disbelief.

“Kyuhyun isn’t like them. You know how there are good people, and bad people? Some of the vampires there were bad vampires. Kyuhyun is a good one. He’s helping me to help humans.”

“Because he bites you.”

A perceptive boy.

“Yes. But because I also like being bitten. It is not always painful, and he is very kind to me. And he is the only reason we got you out safely.”

Be that as it may, Jinyong wasn’t taking any chances. He became part of Zhou Mi almost, not moving from him, almost as though hiding from Kyuhyun’s sight. They sat together on the settee, and Zhou Mi read to him, until there was the sensation of a nodding head against him. Even if he was afraid of Kyuhyun, the proximity to someone he trusted was making Jinyong fall asleep. So he smiled at Kyuhyun, and carried the child up to his room, leaving Victoria to help him into his nightclothes. He was forward thinking enough to hope that Jinyong wouldn’t hate vampires as he grew. They were not, not all of them at least, worthy of his hate.

When he returned, he put the books back on the shelf that he had taken down and heard Kyuhyun stand.

“You like being bitten?” Kyuhyun murmured, coming up beside him and then stopping him from moving so that they were almost facing each other.

It took a moment for him to remember what Kyuhyun was talking about, thinking back over the evening.

“Ah. You heard that?”

“Obviously. That’s the second time you’ve said so.”

Zhou Mi smiled down at Kyuhyun’s arm, the one blocking him.

“There are a great number of things more unpleasant.”

“Zhou Mi.”

Maybe if he were a vampire, and he were looking at a man he was biting, he’d want to know also. But the only thing he could think of were Changmin’s warnings. He wondered if _caring_ too much was one of the dangers. If Kyuhyun could not, would not, bite a human after thirty days, then there was the potential for being hurt. But surely Kyuhyun knew that, guarded against that. And he couldn’t help but wonder if Changmin had other motives. So he shoved it to a corner of his mind as he rubbed his thumb over Kyuhyun’s chin.

“I like it. I like what comes with it more.”

***

The next day and the day after Changmin appeared, usually with some anecdote, some factoid that was useful and helpful, and then he sat there and hoped that his presence would somehow impede them. Kyuhyun just sniffed and went about his business. Occasionally, Zhou Mi would be gone when he woke, and would come back after visiting the sanitarium or the group he worked with. Changmin had the pitiable habit of showing up not long after. Kyuhyun was beginning to think he was having Zhou Mi tailed.

He cornered Zhou Mi in the kitchen to ask just that.

That, and to get up to a little mischief.

“I can’t just tell him to never come back,” Kyuhyun said, pressing wet kisses up Zhou Mi’s neck.

“Of course not,” Zhou Mi said, a light laugh on his voice. But more importantly, his hands were running up and down the sides of Kyuhyun’s evening jacket. He wasn’t sure why he liked that so much. Maybe because he imagined the rings on Zhou Mi’s hands and the way those hands looked against him. Maybe it had to do with the way he was touching Zhou Mi. He didn’t know.

“Have you noticed anyone suspicious following you?”

“Not that I know of,” Zhou Mi said. “Do you think he’s…?”

“He might be having a servant follow you to tell him when you’re here. I don’t know how he else he could keep unerringly showing up not long after. It would serve him right if we just had sex in the middle of the library. Let him walk in on that.”

“I think he’d just take a seat and tell us to hurry up and get it over with.”

Kyuhyun’s laugh burst out of him, delighted with Zhou Mi’s perception. “He would, wouldn’t he? That’s not something I consider a performance.”

“Or something that should be rushed,” Zhou Mi agreed.

They’d at least had time the last few days to finish what they’d started.

“A little taste for now,” Kyuhyun murmured, and slid his teeth into Zhou Mi’s neck.

He fed for barely a minute before pulling away, licking the wounds clean. And instead, he feasted on Zhou Mi’s mouth. Warm, lush, and eager, and Zhou Mi pulled Kyuhyun against him. He felt Zhou Mi’s solid jaw under his fingers, his cheekbones, ears. A strong face. And a shudder went down Kyuhyun’s spine as Zhou Mi’s fingers scraped against the small of his back. Little by little he was clinging, off balance, supported by him and lost to Zhou Mi’s kisses, and the humming against his lips.

They both paused, inhaled, at the telltale knock on the front door. Changmin.

“Fuck.”

“I’d like to,” Zhou Mi muttered against his mouth.

“We could sneak up the stairs.”

“He’d hear,” Zhou Mi sighed, slowly letting Kyuhyun find his own balance again.

“Up the servants’ stairs.”

“We’d know. And we’d rush. I don’t want to think about him when I’m in your bed.”

It was another of Zhou Mi’s earnest little sayings, the ones that should have had him rolling his eyes and instead had him clutching inside. He knew that Zhou Mi meant it, that the words were not absent, but they could also be read into far more than Zhou Mi intended. Zhou Mi spoke the truth. He wanted his focus to be on Kyuhyun, and Kyuhyun thought the same. But he felt the words out of his own mouth would have been cloying.

It would have been safer if Zhou Mi looked at him and did not care who he thought of in Kyuhyun’s bed. If Zhou Mi had snidely remarked that imagining Changmin with them in bed, it would have meant his focus was on sex, on attraction. Changmin wasn’t without his merits as a man.

But to imagine Zhou Mi saying he wanted Changmin meant the disgust curling in him was in danger of displaying itself on his face. Zhou Mi’s focus should be on him, and him alone, as long as their contract lasted.

Which meant that no matter what Zhou Mi’s thoughts were, for the time being they were exactly as they should be.

“Let’s go meet him before he comes looking,” Kyuhyun muttered, and Zhou Mi agreed, following him.

***

But the next evening, Kyuhyun woke warmer than usual. It took him a few moments to understand why, before he realized that it wasn’t heavier blankets, but an arm weighing down his side.

“Ah, you’re awake,” Zhou Mi murmured.

Warm, because Zhou Mi was against him.

“A little late in the day for you to be abed, isn’t it?”

Zhou Mi just chuckled. “Somewhat. But I had just come from spending time with Jinyong and he was settling after his meal, and you were here all alone and comfortable.”

“I see.”

It was hard to say what Kyuhyun thought of the child. He had not, as yet, interrupted their feeding schedule overly much. Changmin had been far more detrimental to that. But seeing Zhou Mi with the child was another facet of Zhou Mi himself. He knew Zhou Mi worked at the sanitarium, offered himself up to be bitten for people he did not know himself. All of those things led him to know that Zhou Mi was a very giving person. He wanted to work hard to change the world around him, unlike some humans who seemed content to just live in the moment they had created.

Or some vampires. He was one of those. He wondered perhaps if he should take an effort to get to know the child a bit, help him to be comfortable. Zhou Mi had not pushed him on it, besides pointing him out to the child. Those moments of clarity, Zhou Mi speaking as though Kyuhyun could not hear. Perhaps there were things that he did not mean for Kyuhyun to hear, and also things that Zhou Mi means in a vastly different way. Zhou Mi’s manner of speaking at times was a little like code. Deciphering true meaning out of sentences intended to charm. On any other man, he might have thought it an irritating trait. On Zhou Mi, he saw it as the fascinating inner working of a man who laughed, smiled, seemed charming, but was in fact far more than he first appeared.

“I wonder what would happen if you brought the child down while Changmin was there,” Kyuhyun murmured.

“Do you think he would scold us more?” Zhou Mi asked. “I think Jinyong might be a little frightened by that.”

“At least we know already what he thinks of our little purchase.”

“That reminds me,” Zhou Mi said, turning his head to Kyuhyun. “I will bring your money tomorrow.”

“Yes. So you will own him then, instead of me,” Kyuhyun jested.

“I will take him out again, see if he recognizes any place in the city that would help us. He is still so frightened.”

“At least he has you to speak to, and not me.”

“Your maid has performed very well as an impromptu nanny. She keeps him from becoming overly fretful or scared when I am gone.”

“I’m glad,” Kyuhyun murmured.

The glow of the lamp was illuminating the long lines of Zhou Mi’s body under the covers. And aside from talk of children, he found he wanted something else. Usually, he woke cool and in need of warmth. Not that night.

It took little effort to flip back the covers, the sheet, getting as far as Zhou Mi’s hips.

“Perhaps, since you’re already here,” Kyuhyun said, his hand sliding over the soft fabric at Zhou Mi’s hips. “We might have a moment before Changmin arrives.”

Zhou Mi wiggled, his interest apparent, and Kyuhyun nearly grinned in pleasure. He kissed along Zhou Mi’s jaw, feeling his kneading coming to fruition at the rise of Zhou Mi’s cock.

He knew what Zhou Mi anticipated. And he knew they could have it done, and done well. But he had not woken to such warmth in so long. It was not thanks, exactly, but perhaps it was.

He undid buttons, the belt at Zhou Mi’s trousers. He drew Zhou Mi, hard and eager, through the flap he bared, and felt him skin to skin as he had done their first night together.

Zhou Mi sighed for him, reached for him, and Kyuhyun held him back, but for a brief kiss pressed to Zhou Mi’s mouth.

There were other places for that. He curled down the bed, still half under the covers himself, and let his lips part around Zhou Mi’s erection. His mouth was wet, and Zhou Mi was very warm, and he heard the hiss of pleasure, the hand Zhou Mi touched his shoulder with.

All he wanted was a little suck, that was all. And something not so little to suck upon. But it was best not to inflate Zhou Mi’s ego, or his estimation of his manhood. He was there, and for him, and that was all that mattered. But it was time that he did not waste, his tongue taking measured circles, swerving, and retreating as he lowered his head to suck. His hand fondled, cupping, stroking, feeling the throb, the hardening of a man in his mouth, to the whim of his movements and pleasure. The taste of him, leaking against Kyuhyun’s tongue as he hummed.

“Kyuhyun,” Zhou Mi said, his voice husky. “You should—“

Stop, so they could couple, perhaps. Stop, or Zhou Mi would lose himself. That was what Kyuhyun wanted.

He sucked harder, got Zhou Mi’s moans, the lifting of his hips and gripping of his hands. And not long after, the taste of his semen as Zhou Mi moaned and came for him.

A satisfying little treat, along with Zhou Mi’s panting breaths and slowly relaxing body. He knew what that face looked like when he was consumed with pleasure, so he was pleased to see Zhou Mi’s eyelids a bit uneven and mouth parted as Kyuhyun wiped his own mouth.

He didn’t bother putting Zhou Mi’s trousers back together, simply sliding out of bed to find his clothes.

“What was that for?” Zhou Mi asked, his breathing still labored.

There was really only one answer, as Kyuhyun pulled up his trousers. “For keeping me warm.”

***

Bringing Jinyong out of his shell was no easy task. It took time spent with him, letting him get to know Zhou Mi, trust him. Zhou Mi brought toys, books, colored pencils and paper. He ate lunch with Jinyong when he could, and read to him more.

“Draw me a picture of your house,” Zhou Mi urged. “Or something near your house.”

If they knew where Jinyong played, perhaps they could find where he lived. Find someone who knew his face. Gentle probes at how long that Jinyong had been in the vampire den had only garnered him vague answers. He didn’t know, Zhou Mi realized. It was more than a few days, though. Most likely a few weeks, and he hoped that only because he could not fathom accepting that Jinyong had been bitten and terrified for months. If only from the way Jinyong was blossoming, he thought not. It would take a lot of gentle care and assurance, but he thought Jinyong would be fine.

“This is my house,” Jinyong said. “My mom, and dad, and my brothers. My sisters are inside. They don’t like getting dirty. There’s a big water…founteen?”

“Fountain?” Zhou Mi suggested.

“Yeah! We’d go play in that. Grannies would tell us to get our feet out of their water. It had a horse on it, but the head was broken off.”

There were many fountains in the city, both for decorative use, and more domestic purposes. Each ward was marked with an animal, and was made of some eight square blocks. That meant six fountains. If Jinyong lived in the horse ward, near a fountain with it’s decorative marker broken, then they had their place to start. Unless all the fountains were broken, but it was still a place to begin.

He took a soft toy, throwing it and bouncing it off Jinyong’s head. Jinyong gaped at him, and Zhou Mi picked up a small stuffed rabbit, pretending like he was going to throw it, too.

The kid had a good arm, Zhou Mi admired, as Jinyong squealed and dove for the bear that had bounced off him. In one quick shot, he’d thrown it back, bouncing it off of Zhou Mi’s cheekbone. That created a war, Jinyong’s squealing bouncing off the walls as they flung toys at each other. Luckily most of them were soft, as Zhou Mi scrabbled for things that weren’t the little wooden train set or toy horses. He collapsed back under a small mountain of toys, as Jinyong took him down.

“Truce! Truce!”

Jinyong was beside him in a flash, laughing down at him. “I beat you!”

“You did. You throw better than I can.”

Jinyong just giggled and flopped beside Zhou Mi, curling against him with a head on his shoulder in such an unconscious and lovely way. There was no fear in it.

“I like playing with you,” Jinyong said.

“I like playing with you, too. I’m glad I met you,” Zhou Mi told him.

“Nanny says you rescued me.”

Zhou Mi paused. He did not want to build accolades for them in Jinyong’s mind, but he also knew that Jinyong would be curious about what happened. Victoria, serving as his nanny had not been instructed to keep anything from Jinyong at all, unless she felt it would frighten him.

“Kyuhyun and I are glad we found you,” Zhou Mi settled on finally. “We both worked to bring you here. And now, help you to find your family.”

“You don’t want to keep me?”

Zhou Mi’s heart actually panged in his chest. “Oh. I don’t have a little boy. You know that. And you are the best little boy I could imagine. But your parents… they must be worried. Hoping you’re safe.”

Jinyong shrugged, moving his little toy train back and forth across Zhou Mi’s stomach. “They have other kids. I don’t think they’d mind if you kept me. There’s Nanny, and bunny, and cookies…”

“You can bring Bunny with you. And I’ll visit. And bring you cookies. I can’t— If I know we can find your parents. Is there someone you miss?”

Jinyong rocked back and forth. “Mama.”

Zhou Mi smiled and nodded. “I think she misses you too. No matter how many other children she has. No one can replace you. Not anyone.”

And then Zhou Mi had an armful of child, squashing him down into the floor. “I’ll miss you,” Jinyong wailed.

Zhou Mi held him, murmuring assurances, until Jinyong quieted. It did not help him to know that his plans for Jinyong after rescuing him had never been secure. He’d had only half formed thoughts. Find his family, and if that failed, he didn’t know what he would have done. If he’d felt incapable, he might have found another family for Jinyong instead.

But there were things about Jinyong’s experience that Zhou Mi understood better than most. Perhaps that was why they understood each other. He was a strong example in the face of Jinyong’s fear of vampires.

“Mr. Zhou! Mr. Zhou, are you in there?”

He startled, frightening Jinyong who had begun to fall asleep against him.

“I’m here! Come in,” Zhou Mi called out, struggling to rise with a sleepy boy clinging to him.

“Mr. Cho is home,” Kyuhyun’s manservant said as soon as the door came open. “He’s— He’s hurt, sir. Could you come down?”

Zhou Mi stood and sat Jinyong on the bed. “Wait here, all right?”

Kyuhyun was hurt, his mind repeated over and over. And he couldn’t even fathom how.

***


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The streets of Zhou Mi's city are being contaminated with a new drug - Euphoria. Pure vampire blood, it causes a high unlike any other, but when the high fades, the nightmares begin. It is the spread of Euphoria that Zhou Mi fights, and in that fight he needs a partner to get him to places and people that only a vampire can.

***

By the time Zhou Mi had thundered down the stairs, the servants had gotten Kyuhyun in through the door. He was standing, which was a blessed relief, but his clothes were bloody, and so was his face. Red marks there, also, as though he’d been hit, and scrapes on his hands.

“Kyuhyun,” he said, stepping forward to where Kyuhyun was being supported.

“It’s worse than it looks,” Kyuhyun said. “I just need— Bath.”

“What happened?” he said, aghast. “Did the carriage turn over?”

Kyuhyun shook his head, and winced. “I was attacked on the street. Four men. Half a dozen, I don’t know. Anti-vampire gangs, probably. Upstairs.”

He wanted to touch. To touch Kyuhyun all over and make sure he was all right. He also knew they needed to move Kyuhyun as fast as possible in case he lost the strength to get up the stairs.

“I’ll get blood on your clothes,” Kyuhyun said, a trail of bloody saliva trailing down his chin as he waved Zhou Mi back. To his staff he said, “Help me upstairs. Please.”

Zhou Mi could only watch as the servants helped Kyuhyun toward the stairs.

“Water’s being prepared?”

“Yes, sir,” a maid told him.

There was blood being smeared into the floor, and even that he couldn’t think about as he followed them up the stairs. His hand gripped the railing, nearly pulling himself up after them even as his heart was beating almost beyond control.

Kyuhyun was a vampire. He could heal inhumanly fast. But seeing him weakened, battered, was not something that Zhou Mi had ever been prepared to face. Kyuhyun, vampires, to him were so untouchable.

But he didn’t even make it to Kyuhyun’s room, seeing Jinyong peeking out from behind his door.

“Hey,” Zhou Mi said, pushing in and getting down to Jinyong’s level and trying to hide his own fear.

“He said Kyuhyun is hurt?”

“He’s doing better. I’ll be looking after him, so go to sleep, all right?” Zhou Mi said, and kissed the top of Jinyong’s head. “I’ll come check on you in a while, too. But don’t worry.”

Zhou Mi hugged him, picked him up and settled him on his bed. He was just leaving as Jinyong’s nanny arrived. He was glad for that, leaving Jinyong with a smile and stretching his legs to get to the bathing room as quickly as he could.

Zhou Mi could see Kyuhyun was hurting, just in the way he moved, as though there was something painful in the movement of his hips, the flexing of his spine. Then there were the dark marks on Kyuhyun’s face, blood running from his hairline. That, he thought, was the most startling of all. Of course he knew it was possible for vampires to be injured, even if the injury wouldn’t kill them. But to see a man he already identified as immortal, injured, made him that much more human. Zhou Mi wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not.

No, he did know. But he shoved it aside, as he watched the bath being filled. He tested the water himself, as one of the servants put out clean towels and Kyuhyun’s valet helped Kyuhyun out of his clothes.

Kyuhyun hissed as he sank into the heated water, and relaxed back. And it was time.

“I’ll take care of him tonight,” Zhou Mi said, stepping up beside the tub and addressing the two men. “I’ll ring if he needs more water or help getting out.”

There was a pause, but they acquiesced when they saw that Kyuhyun wasn’t objecting, leaving them alone. Maybe he hadn’t bathed a man before, but he knew what he liked himself. And he wanted that time alone with Kyuhyun.

“Do you need to talk to me?” Kyuhyun asked, leaning his head back.

Zhou Mi turned from him only for a moment, getting a cloth for washing, a sponge, and soap before moving back to Kyuhyun’s side.

“No, I wanted to make sure you were all right.”

“I’m not dying, if that’s what you’re asking,” Kyuhyun joked. But he didn’t say more until Zhou Mi sat on the low stool. “It was nothing. A group of idiots who couldn’t have gotten the best of me on their own.”

“They knew you were a vampire?”

The cloth, slick with soap, skimmed over Kyuhyun’s shoulder and collarbones. He just barely bit back the grin as Kyuhyun made a sound, almost like a contented cat.

“They did. It fucking hurt.”

Zhou Mi followed Kyuhyun’s line of sight to an angry red wound running along Kyuhyun’s arm. It tickled something in the back of his mind. He’d think on it later, as soon as he’d satisfied himself of Kyuhyun’s wellbeing. He knew that wound had to have been much worse before Kyuhyun had gotten home, proof of a vampire’s incredible healing power. It probably wouldn’t be there by morning. Perhaps that was something to be envied.

“I can do this myself, you know,” Kyuhyun said, stopping Zhou Mi’s hand before it got much further down Kyuhyun’s chest.

“Yes, I know.”

But that didn’t mean he stopped. He carefully rubbed at Kyuhyun’s sore stomach, his hips. Taking the sponge to rub down Kyuhyun’s thighs and shins. He glanced up, to see if he was hurting, or tickling, to find Kyuhyun’s eyes steady on him. Little blood, but blooming bruises, turning a bit green and yellow already. He did not mean it to be sexual, meant it to be more of a gesture of caring, but he was not blind. Kyuhyun was growing aroused. Maybe from the touch, maybe from anticipation, but it had him blowing out a breath. Not an unhappy one, as he carefully washed the inside of Kyuhyun’s closest arm.

“You could get a position doing this,” Kyuhyun said.

Zhou Mi cleared his throat, dragging his eyes from Kyuhyun’s lips.

“Let me get your back.”

Marks from gravel, bruises. What might have been broken or bruised ribs, Zhou Mi could see all of them clearly. Scrubbing down Kyuhyun’s back felt like it was cleansing the skin, but also Zhou Mi’s mind. The worry, the want to be close. Seeing Kyuhyun’s fingers curling over the edge of the tub, bracing himself. And almost shivering with anger as he rubbed special creams through Kyuhyun’s hair, carefully pouring water from a large copper jug over Kyuhyun’s head to rinse him clean.

“This is nothing,” Kyuhyun said, his voice flat and even. He grabbed Zhou Mi’s wrist before he could move. “I can hear your questions rattling around in your brain from here. Nothing a little bite won’t cure.”

“You’ll have that after you’re dry.”

Kyuhyun looked up at him, and the expression was one Zhou Mi couldn’t read. “You’d be this outraged that someone was hurt, no matter who they were, wouldn’t you?”

Kyuhyun’s eyelashes were dark and wet, catching the light as they considered each other. His whole face was wet, actually, including his mouth. He should not have thought of Kyuhyun like that, not then, but it was impossible to stop. But he realized he hadn’t answered Kyuhyun’s question.

“Probably. But you’re not anyone.”

It was not a _confession_. It was fact. They were not strangers, and could not pretend that they were. But he still saw the surprise on Kyuhyun’s face, before he pressed his lips to Kyuhyun’s, parted and damp from the bath. Kyuhyun couldn’t just make light of his concern, do anything he wanted, to worry him. And he didn’t have the words or knowledge to tell Kyuhyun that. But he could kiss, feeling Kyuhyun’s mouth soften for him, open to him. The tingles that ran down his spine at Kyuhyun’s soft sound, the sharp, almost bitter taste of Kyuhyun’s mouth. Kyuhyun’s hand was wet, fingers tangling in Zhou Mi’s hair as Kyuhyun tilted down his face. Leaving Zhou Mi’s nose pressed to Kyuhyun’s skin, breathing against each other.

“Peculiar human,” Kyuhyun said, but there was no mockery to it. “If this tub was big enough, I’d drag you in here with me.”

That drew all types of images to his mind, ones that had him biting his lip to contain himself. “Maybe if the water was warmer. You can finish up yourself?”

Before the water grew cooler than it was. He stood, leaving Kyuhyun to finish washing himself as he made sure a towel and Kyuhyun’s robe was at hand. It was simple, then, to help Kyuhyun from the tub, letting the water stream down before Kyuhyun stepped out, and could be wrapped in the robe. The towel, Zhou Mi laid over Kyuhyun’s head, putting the other on the floor so that Kyuhyun wouldn’t slip.

And it put him at a loss, tucking his hands behind his back as Kyuhyun rubbed at his hair with the towel.

“Not going to dry me, too?” Kyuhyun teased. “I’ll finish drying off in my room, if you want to ring to let them know the bathing room is ready to be cleaned.”

“I will.”

It gave him a minute of solitude at least, to try working some of the knots out of his shoulders, rubbing his hands up and down his arms, to reduce the odd leaden feelings. But he was mostly together, by the time the manservant bounded in, and all was finished on his end. All that was left was to go to Kyuhyun, and to whatever being together brought them before sleep. A meal for Kyuhyun, that much he knew, to help him heal.

When he returned to the room, he was not entirely surprised to find that Kyuhyun had slid into bed on the side that Zhou Mi usually slept on. There was just enough room there for Zhou Mi, or for them to arrange themselves atop whoever was doing the taking. He undressed, leaving his clothes carefully over the back of one of the chairs before Kyuhyun tossed back the corner of blanket and invited him in.

He let out a soft moan as Kyuhyun’s uninjured arm snaked around him, grasping his hair and pulling him into filthy kiss. Kyuhyun’s tongue was holding nothing back, both demanding and urging Zhou Mi along, even as Kyuhyun’s thigh rubbed against his.

And his breath came hard as their lips parted. “Are you sure you feel up to it?”

“You mean you’d deny the poor, injured vampire his request to have his cock sucked?” Kyuhyun paused a moment, choking with laughter as Zhou Mi flushed. “You _would_ consider it. But that’s not the gratification I’m seeking.”

“What is it you want?” Zhou Mi asked, his thumb skimming just above the little scars along Kyuhyun’s cheekbone. Proof he’d once been human. Proof that once, the injuries he had would not have healed nearly so fast.

Kyuhyun’s fingertip traced down his collarbone. “I think I’ll let you do the work tonight. And yes. I’m sure.”

That hadn’t been the question he’d been going to ask, but he squeezed Kyuhyun’s hand anyway.

“I can do that.”

Kyuhyun’s body was lit by half, and part in shadow from the bedside light. With his eyes, he traced the bottom edge of Kyuhyun’s ribcage, the dip of his navel, and the fine hair that traced down from it. His body was not that of a man who needed muscles to work day to day.

But it was that of a man. Sturdy bones, solid hips, and strength. It was written in every inch of his skin. The dark of nipples against his skin, scattered marks that made Kyuhyun unique.

“What do you see?” Kyuhyun asked.

Zhou Mi very carefully slickened his fingers, only to feel Kyuhyun’s body give within moments, pushing down against them, taking them in. It was not so much that he felt he needed to, because he knew Kyuhyun could take him without any touch at all. But he wanted to. He’d been so surprised, eager, the first time. Too exhausted to do anything but follow Kyuhyun’s invitation to its inevitable end.

But not that night. Kyuhyun was hurt, but relaxed, mouth falling open as Zhou Mi stroked him inside until he was squirming, tightening himself on Zhou Mi’s fingers, fucking himself on them. It had Zhou Mi stroking himself as well, but not too fast. Just enough, so that when Kyuhyun couldn’t stand it, he would be ready.

His mouth opened, almost ready to ask how many men had done that for Kyuhyun, driven him wild without ever slipping inside him, and he thought better of it. Kyuhyun had lived longer than he had, and if he knew, it might not be the answer he wanted. How many men had been where he was, how many men had seen Kyuhyun gasping and flushed and pushing up against them for more.

It didn’t matter. It couldn’t matter. The only thing that did was that he was there, right then, and it was him who was pressing up with his fingers and making Kyuhyun gasp.

“Zhou Mi. Fuck. Stop teasing!”

“Some other time, I could make you come like this,” Zhou Mi promised, feeling himself shiver.

It was so smooth, the way his fingers slid out, and his erection replaced them. Kyuhyun’s thighs gripped him, holding him deep, pulling him in. He settled on his elbows, close enough to feel Kyuhyun’s breath.

“I don’t mean to offend,” Kyuhyun said, his tongue flickering at Zhou Mi’s lower lip. “But I think I like your cock better than your fingers.”

“My cock isn’t offended in the least,” Zhou Mi murmured. “My fingers… Another time, maybe.”

It wasn’t as simple as sliding in and out. It was the way their hips met, and the slide of Kyuhyun’s nails against his skin and through his hair. It was in their kisses, slow, because he controlled them. All he had to do was lift his head if Kyuhyun pressed him, low little rumbles of dissatisfaction.

“One day I want you on your back,” Kyuhyun said, taking a long inhale as Zhou Mi’s hips flexed quicker. “I’ll hold you down, sink on you, and you’ll have no— Oh. No way to make me go faster.”

“I want that. I want— Kyuhyun.“ It was a moan, as their hips rolled together, like a wave rising and turning. For a moment, in his mind, he saw the blood trickling from Kyuhyun’s head. “You’re all right. You’re all right.”

He kissed Kyuhyun’s neck, the arch of his cheekbone. Full lips and stubborn chin were there for him taste, cover. Only pausing for the pleasure their bodies were sending up his spine. Close, too close.

“Come with me,” Kyuhyun urged him. “I’ll show you.”

“Kyuhyun.”

“Yes.”

“Kyuhyun.”

“Let me feel you. Zhou Mi. Let me—“

Kyuhyun moaned against his neck as Zhou Mi stroked his cock and pressed into him until his mind was blank of anything but pleasure. All he knew, as his hand went wet with Kyuhyun’s come, was that he couldn’t hold back. He moaned, and moaned again as he felt Kyuhyun’s teeth sink through his skin, and he could not stop, until his hips slowed their desperate struggle and he was hoarse - and Kyuhyun’s teeth were still in him.

But only for a moment longer, until he moaned again as Kyuhyun’s tongue soothed where he had bitten. The arm that had taken most of his weight began to tremble, and he could do little but slide from Kyuhyun and debate which way to move.

As soon as the room stopped spinning.

“You took more,” Zhou Mi realized. “You needed more.”

“You make me lose control,” Kyuhyun accused, but his voice was not harsh with it. Zhou Mi laughed, the feeling rusty, and with effort let his arm give so he could roll toward the center of the bed. “I didn’t take as much as the first time, but I should get you something to drink. Or eat.“

His head felt a bit muzzy. Maybe that was the aftereffects of the sex, and not just the bloodletting. “I should be taking care of you.”

“I am mostly healed. You… You should not move.”

“Won’t.”

Kyuhyun kissed him, and he tried, sloppily, to catch Kyuhyun’s lip with his teeth. He missed, and Kyuhyun just chuckled at him.

“I’ll be right back.”

Zhou Mi squinted, and then opened his eyes wide as he watched Kyuhyun walk naked to retrieve his dressing gown. And he was glad to be tall sometimes as he stuck out a leg and dragged what looked like a shirt of Kyuhyun’s off the floor, and used it to mop at his skin. After that, he just reclined on the pillows and finally felt settle enough to open his eyes as Kyuhyun came back in.

“I used your shirt to clean myself off,” he confessed, as Kyuhyun put a mug and bowl down on the bedstand.

“Good thing it was due to be washed,” Kyuhyun said, and shimmied out of his robe. That naked skin all tantalizing in front of him, even with the marks. But they were fading. And it was opposite of earlier, with him holding back the covers so that Kyuhyun could slide in.

“Your warmth always surprises me,” Kyuhyun said, as soon as he had took back his mouth from Zhou Mi’s.

Zhou Mi cupped Kyuhyun’s shoulder. “But you don’t feel cold to me.”

“Odd, isn’t it? Are you hungry? You should eat something just in case ”

But when Zhou Mi thought to raise his hand to take the bowl, he was startled as Kyuhyun lifted a piece of fruit from it, offering it until Zhou Mi took it from his fingers with his teeth. Apple, crisp and tart as he chewed.

“You’re feeding me?”

“You feed me,” Kyuhyun said.

That was something Zhou Mi could not argue with. He quickly drank the water Kyuhyun had brought and settled against Kyuhyun’s side.

“More,” he demanded cheekily, feeling a bit decadent and waited on. Even if he was the one supposed to be taking care of Kyuhyun. Still it seemed like Kyuhyun enjoyed it, teasing his lower lip with the fruit and pulling it back before letting Zhou Mi eat it. Their heads were so close, both laughing. And he ate, as Kyuhyun told him a story of a vampire who was ill at the site of blood. Eating wasn’t bad for that vampire, as long as there wasn’t any trace of it after.

“What about you?” Zhou Mi asked, after he’d finished the last of the food Kyuhyun had brought.

“Me? I don’t particularly enjoy the sight of blood. It is food, and it keeps human and vampire alike alive. But I have no desire to bathe in it.”

“That would be a disturbing sight.”

“Mm,” Kyuhyun agreed, his hand spreading against Zhou Mi’s chest. Bruises that had been there earlier, ringing his wrist, were nearly gone.

“My blood healed you,” Zhou Mi said in realization.

“Your blood has been healing me all night,” Kyuhyun said. “When a vampire drinks from a human long enough, they become…mostly of their blood.”

“Oh.” He liked that, oddly. In Kyuhyun’s veins was nothing but his blood. He traced Kyuhyun’s inner arm, where he knew veins were. “Then you’re mine. _Me._ ”

“Yes, I’m you,” Kyuhyun teased him. “Right down to the last drop.”

Oddly, it seemed like the first word had fit better. But he kissed Kyuhyun to mask his awkwardness, to make him forget the slip of his mouth, no matter how true it felt. But no matter what it felt like, it could not be true. He’d known that before Kyuhyun had touched him. Remembering Changmin’s warnings had him flinching, kneading the back of Kyuhyun’s neck and moaning into the kiss. A month had seemed like forever, and it was slipping away.

Still, there was time that they could take advantage of, and he had the strength to do it as he rolled onto his knees and kissed Kyuhyun.

“There’s not much time before the sun—“

“I know. Let me take care of you.”

And Kyuhyun gasped as Zhou Mi kissed down his stomach.

***

When Kyuhyun was resting easily, Zhou Mi rose and put his robe on over his trousers. He tested himself, to make sure he was steady, but was not terribly concerned since he wouldn’t be near any stairs. He could check on Jinyong, make sure the house was prepared for the day. There would be no more work, but he needed to let the staff know.

Jinyong stirred immediately when Zhou Mi opened the door, emitting a cry that had Zhou Mi striding across the room to hug him.

“It’s all right. It’s me. Everything is all right. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you,” Zhou Mi said, petting Jinyong’s soft hair.

“Is Kyuhyun going to die?”

“No. Oh, no. He’s injured, but it would take more than that to kill a vampire.”

“You were afraid,” Jinyong said, his voice trembling a bit.

“I was. He’s my—“ Business partner. Enabler in the vampire world. Friend didn’t quite fit. He settled on, “He’s my vampire.”

And that didn’t sound quite right either, but it got him a smile. “So you’re not afraid any more?”

Zhou Mi smiled, and stroked down Jinyong’s cowlick. “Not any more.”

“I won’t be either. You like him. He gave me a cookie once.”

“Did he?” Zhou Mi asked, his lips trembling.

“He held it out and stared. And wiggled it. Like I’m a puppy.”

“But did you take it? What did you tell him?”

“I said thank you,” Jinyong said a bit petulantly, as though he was being criticized on his manners. “Will he let me sit on his lap when he’s at his desk?”

“Maybe. You could ask.”

“But he has to ask before biting me, right?”

“You never have to be afraid of that,” Zhou Mi said, and cuddled Jinyong close. And when Jinyong was asleep, Zhou Mi felt better as well.

His vampire. Those words haunted him all the way back down the hall.

***

Kyuhyun woke to warmth and dark. The second wasn’t surprising, but the first was. The weight on the bed told him why, as did the breath against his neck, the breathing of a man who was not asleep.

“You’re still here.”

“I left for awhile,” Zhou Mi said, sliding an arm over Kyuhyun’s side, and pressing a kiss to his neck. “Checked on Jinyong, went to the sanitarium. Our patients being treated are making progress. The younger boy can even speak now.”

“Good. What brought you back so early?”

“You. I figured you’d heal better if you were warm. Or if not, you’d feel better anyway.”

“And you wanted to make sure I was all right?”

“That too. I even let Jinyong watch you sleep for a few moments to assure him you were going to be fine?”

That surprised Kyuhyun as well.

“He was worried?”

“He was. He heard that you were ill, likely watched you being helped to your room. He has a lot of empathy. And you’ve been kind to him.”

That wasn’t something he’d wanted spread around. Though, it was Zhou Mi, who seemed to know everything and be amused by every weakness Kyuhyun showed. Not amused, as though he were cataloguing those weaknesses for his own gain, but because he enjoyed people. At least, people who were not working for the destruction of others.

“I should rise. I had a note sent to Changmin, so he will undoubtedly be barging in to assure himself I have all my limbs.”

“He wasn’t here last night,” Zhou Mi realized.

“Yes,” Kyuhyun said, and reluctantly disentangled himself from Zhou Mi’s arms. “Even he has affairs of his own to deal with now and then. That, or perhaps he feels he got his point across.”

“Did he?” Zhou Mi asked, a hand on Kyuhyun’s back.

“I don’t know—“

Kyuhyun made a sound nearly a squeak when he felt his balance give. And then he was suspended in midair with Zhou Mi supporting his weight, and looming over him, smiling.

“Oh,” Kyuhyun said. And wondered at the smug tilt to Zhou Mi’s mouth. “You did that on purpose.”

“A little. Did I hurt you?”

“No.” But he was chuckling as he got himself under control, nudging up against Zhou Mi’s mouth. A nice way to greet an evening, with a man’s arms around him, and kisses firm.

“You like it when you get to take care of me, when I’m weaker than you,” Kyuhyun accused, his told mild and even.

“No, not exactly,” Zhou Mi said, shaking his head. “Obviously I don’t enjoy that you’re hurt. But being able to take care of you is something new. It reminds me of how—“

Kyuhyun frowned at Zhou Mi, wondering what was going through his head. Zhou Mi almost looked embarrassed, and that meant that Kyuhyun had to know what the words were that Zhou Mi had stopped himself from saying.

“How what?”

Zhou Mi cleared his throat, and it took him a moment before he reluctantly met Kyuhyun’s eyes. “How human you are.”

If Zhou Mi had wanted to surprise him, to say something that made him feel as though he’d been hit, he could not have chosen better. It felt like the air in his lungs stopped up for a moment as he tried to school his face. He knew he had not succeeded, not entirely, with the widening of his eyes. And then there was the way Zhou Mi’s expression had become just slightly concerned. Perhaps Zhou Mi wondered if he was insulted, or hurt in some way.

“We hold ourselves apart from humans for a reason,” Kyuhyun said, as Zhou Mi nodded slowly. “But many of us never forget that we started as humans. It is strange to be reminded of that.”

Zhou Mi’s mouth opened, primed for apology or explanation, and Kyuhyun stopped him.

“You shouldn’t worry yourself.”

“Kyuhyun.”

“Do you wish I was human?”

Zhou Mi shook his head, reaching up to grasp Kyuhyun’s wrist. “You would not be the same. You haven’t told me of your past.”

“But you like who I am now?”

At Zhou Mi’s grin, Kyuhyun imagined he’d struck close to what Zhou Mi had been about to say. Zhou Mi leaned in immediately, touching his mouth with some kind of friendly enthusiasm. It was strangely pain, mingled with something close to happiness. If any human should appreciate him as he was, it should gratify him that it was Zhou Mi. Not a human he bit for a night, or a weekend. But it also seemed a waste. He had few enough friends, and he did not expect to keep contact with Zhou Mi with their month was up. It would be too difficult. Too tempting, too dangerous.

At least, he thought in their case it would be. Zhou Mi’s mouth parted for his nudging, a lazy curl of a kiss, Zhou Mi’s tongue flirting with his. Zhou Mi saw the humanity in him, and he saw that Zhou Mi was no ordinary human. Not just for the lack of thrall, but for everything. It clutched him inside as tightly as Zhou Mi gripped him with his arms. It should have frightened him, coupled with Changmin’s warnings. But they had time. They could not worry, until there was no time left, or taint what they had.

Their lips parted, wet, and Kyuhyun stared at Zhou Mi’s as he felt Zhou Mi’s breaths come a bit quicker.

“I feel I want to have these lips wrapped around me,” Kyuhyun said, touching Zhou Mi’s mouth. “As I have mine wrapped around you. We’ll work twice as hard after.”

“But not nearly as hard.”

Kyuhyun gusted out a laugh. “Yes. Exactly.”

Zhou Mi’s eyelids lowered, eyes knowing and the edges of his lips pulling. It was interest and it was acceptance. They stretched out on the bed on their sides, head to opposite ends and trousers open and down. The room was fill with the sounds of wet sucking and sighs. Moans of encouragement, the touch of skin to skin. It was a more sensual endeavor, he found, to suck and be sucked at once. His consciousness was split of enjoyment and purpose, but what pleasure he felt was enhanced by the jut of Zhou Mi’s arousal between his lips.

“No, too fast,” Kyuhyun gasped.

“ _Faster,_ ” Zhou Mi pleaded.

And it was he that fell first, his hips held back by Zhou Mi’s hand as he moaned and lost himself to the heat of Zhou Mi’s mouth. It made him redouble his efforts on Zhou Mi as soon as the pleasure had stopped consuming him. Though the truth was, Zhou Mi’s moans only made it continue, a shudder down his spine as he gripped Zhou Mi’s hip and took him deep. The stroking of his hand, his tongue, and Zhou Mi couldn’t last. His mouth moved twice as fast as Zhou Mi’s sounds, the touches of Zhou Mi’s fingers, and he smiled at the desperate cry that melted into a moan as Zhou Mi came for him.

He sucked until Zhou Mi shuddered, fingers tight on Kyuhyun’s waist.

And it was only then that he let himself relax, resting his head on the mattress and breathing in the scent of home, of Zhou Mi. If Zhou Mi had been face to face with him, or with his back to him, Kyuhyun would have pressed closer for warmth. As it was, he just kept his hand on Zhou Mi’s hip and basked. Even if he couldn’t see Zhou Mi, he knew he was doing the exact same thing.

He jolted at a knock on the door.

“Sir, Mr. Shim is downstairs.”

Kyuhyun struggled up onto his elbow. “Tell him I’ll be down shortly.”

“Yes, sir.”

Kyuhyun used that momentum to move, swinging around so he could face Zhou Mi who was almost silently snickering into the cover.

“That is why staff who don’t come into a room without permission is important,” Kyuhyun said, laughing down at Zhou Mi as they curled together.

“Would we have shocked him to death?” Zhou Mi asked.

“Not so much so that anyone else would have heard.”

The solid, warm weight of Zhou Mi’s hand against his neck had his toes curling under. The kisses were bright, warm and lovely, opening to each other slow and steady. It was the taste of himself in Zhou Mi’s mouth, and Zhou Mi’s taste in his own, and they shared it.

“I could make a habit of beginning my nights like this,” Kyuhyun murmured.

“You have a lovely mouth,” Zhou Mi said, eyes coy.

“Yours is…exceptionally adequate.”

Zhou Mi laughed into his kiss, and he hooked his leg over Zhou Mi’s hip to draw him closer. He could have stayed there for hours, drawing little interested sounds from Zhou Mi’s throat, tiny sighs as Kyuhyun teased the edge of his ear.

But there were other things to take care of.

“I should go down before Changmin thunders up,” Kyuhyun said with regret. He might have started his night well, but Changmin would not find him amenable for having torn him away from a man with his legs stretched over the bed, pants open and mouth wet.

Because he could, he mussed Zhou Mi’s hair, and realized that was only hurting himself because Zhou Mi looked even more rumpled, ready for sex and pouting.

“Feel free to stay here as long as you want. Changmin won’t mind,” Kyuhyun said, a bit wry even though Zhou Mi understood.

“I should look in on Jinyong again,” Zhou Mi said, though he didn’t move, just watching as Kyuhyun stood and dressed to go downstairs.

“When you’re ready, then,” Kyuhyun said. And he bent, not feeling obedient as much as wanting, when Zhou Mi held out a hand to draw him down again. And three kisses later, he was finally ready.

Kyuhyun opened the door to the hall, just in time to hear his name shouted up the stairwell in a familiar voice. He sighed and looked back at Zhou Mi.

“I hope you enjoyed knowing Changmin, because you might not any more after I get down there.”

He thought he heard Zhou Mi’s chuckle as he closed the door. He only half meant his threat.

***

Changmin was understandably cautious, when he heard of Kyuhyun’s injuries. However, it gave Changmin something to mull on besides Kyuhyun’s interactions with Zhou Mi, so after Zhou Mi had come down, and left to go to the sanitarium, it was a pleasant time with Changmin. It was possible to kill a vampire, and they had been friends long enough to imagine that losing each other would be a great loss.

“I have not heard of another vampire being attacked so. Did they mention the Euphoria to you?”

“Not that I recall,” Kyuhyun answered.

“Perhaps yours, and Zhou Mi’s, fear of humans beginning a backlash against vampires. But identifying a vampire is not as easy as that.”

“Yes. However, since I was out on Zhou Mi’s behalf visiting a vampire, I may have been caught by association.”

Changmin nodded. “I will keep my ears open. I wonder… I wonder if the Choi family had something to do with it.”

Kyuhyun tried to picture the composed Sooyoung wielding a bucket, and couldn’t.

“I don’t think so. When she spoke with us, it seemed like she knew ways to harm a vampire that were far more effective than these thugs.”

Changmin’s laugh was loud. “That’s very true. Still, if there is one person in the city who might know who these people might be.”

“You’re right. I’ll send her a note. Maybe she’ll agree to another audience.”

Like a queen. He and Changmin shared an amused look. He knew it would not be that night, but another night.

“I’ll take my leave, then,” Changmin said, standing with his hat. “I have a couple of new vampires who might be willing to bite the patients in need. They’re a little…less than enthusiastic.”

“Your help is appreciated,” Kyuhyun said, standing and holding out his hand.

Changmin stared at it, before sighing, and grasping Kyuhyun’s hand.

“Yes. I hear Zhou Mi’s thanks behind yours. I’ll be seeing you.”

“Have a good night.”

Changmin sent a grin back. “There’ll be a woman waiting to feed me at home. So I will.”

***

Kyuhyun sat for only twenty minutes after Changmin had gone before hearing a creak in the hallway. Zhou Mi was gone, and the staff would not be skulking. The child, perhaps, and it was confirmed, when a tousled head appeared around the door. Kyuhyun’s problem with children had been less that he didn't like them, and more that he wasn't really sure what to do with them. He found them cute. It wasn't like he was a monster. But this child was cute. Cleaned up, well dressed, he could have been the son of any gentleman. It had been only a few days prior when Jinyong had peeked into the office while Zhou Mi was gone.

_”You're a vampire," the child said._

_"That's right."_

_"Zhou Mi likes you."_

_Kyuhyun had to keep himself from smirking. "I think he does."_

_The boy dawdled, drawing circles on the rug with his toe. Kyuhyun didn't want to ask him if his nanny knew where he was, chase him off. Somehow he could see Zhou Mi being negative about that. He rustled in his drawer, getting a wary look, at least until he emerged with a cookie. Perhaps the child shared Zhou Mi's sweet tooth._

_"Would you like it?”_

The boy had taken it, mumbling a thank you before darting from the room. But like a puppy after scraps, it seemed he had a visitor again. That time he didn’t even ask, lifting the lid from the plate and holding out the cookie with lifted eyebrows. Sidling along the edge of the room, and then the desk, Jinyong reached for it, pulling it back like he wasn’t allowed. Or perhaps just afraid.

But cookie in hand, Jinyong did not run away as he had last time. He stared at Kyuhyun’s desk and the strange things that must have been on it to a child’s eyes. And the voice Jinyong used to speak was a bit wavery, strengthening as he spoke.

"Zhou Mi said you might let me sit on your lap."

Zhou Mi would have.

“Perhaps. When Zhou Mi is here…?” Kyuhyun ventured. It would put the child at ease, and give Kyuhyun a much-needed back up.

“You’re better now?”

Kyuhyun had forgotten that Jinyong had been there when he’d come home injured.

“Yes, I am. Thank you for asking,” Kyuhyun said, and smiled. He was hoping, just a little, for an answering smile. He got a head waggle, and considered them even.

He felt a bit responsible for Jinyong. Even if Zhou Mi was consistently paying him back for any supplies and had paid him for Jinyong’s purchase, he knew his money had freed the boy to begin with. It had been Zhou Mi’s will, and Kyuhyun’s funds, that had done it. When he thought of the squalor Jinyong might still be in, he had a twinge of thankfulness for Zhou Mi pushing him. It was easy to ignore, when the boy was out of sight.

It was less easy, when the boy was inching his way around Kyuhyun’s desk, as though it would bite him. But it wasn’t the desk the boy feared- it was him. His kind. There were other boys like him that Zhou Mi was trying to help, by keeping them safe from the Euphoria as they grew.

Keeping the child with them to make Kyuhyun see the humanity in what they were working to accomplish was a good goal. But he knew that hadn’t been Zhou Mi’s purpose. Still, the boy could not stay. He thought they both knew that. There was a place he belonged, if Zhou Mi could find it.

They both heard the knock at the outer door, and Jinyong cowered at the side of his desk. Perhaps Kyuhyun was a source of fear, but he was a known source, until he proved otherwise. Still, Kyuhyun knew it could be no one else, and was proved correct when Zhou Mi appeared in the doorway.

“Zhou Mi!”

“Jinyong!” Zhou Mi said, crouching and opening his arms for Jinyong to run into.

“He gave me a cookie,” Jinyong said, his voice pitched almost to a whisper but still loud enough to be heard.

“Ooh,” Zhou Mi said, impressed by the cookie that Jinyong still held. Though not by the crumbs that were undoubtedly scattered everywhere, Kyuhyun mused.

“He said I could sit on his lap,” Jinyong said, in the exact same volume.

“Is that right?” Zhou Mi asked, gathering Jinyong into him and standing. “I thought he might let you.”

“Because he won’t bite me…”

The statement had started strong and faltered, as though Jinyong was attempting to build up his belief that it was true, despite Zhou Mi’s assurances.

“That’s right,” Zhou Mi said softly. “Only me. Why don’t we sit on his lap together?”

Kyuhyun opened his mouth to protest, and Zhou Mi smiled at him over Jinyong’s head. He saw the way Zhou Mi was being clung to, the care Zhou Mi showed an innocent. He saw the way, a moment later, Jinyong and Zhou Mi beamed at each other as though in conspiracy. And he knew it was not in him to resist.

“You think we’re going to fit?” Zhou Mi asked Jinyong as they got closer.

“I think so,” Jinyong said.

Kyuhyun had the very nice viewpoint of Zhou Mi’s backside backing up to him, almost doing a little dance and making Jinyong giggle. What he was doing was making Kyuhyun hope he didn’t topple over and take all three of them to the floor. But he reached for Zhou Mi’s hip, guiding him back onto Kyuhyun’s thighs.

Zhou Mi glanced back and Kyuhyun had to resist waggling his eyebrows. He liked Zhou Mi like that.

Jinyong peeked over Zhou Mi’s shoulder as they landed. Kyuhyun hoped his smile was not frightening, and more welcoming. With his face, he didn’t always know.

“You have teeth,” Jinyong told him.

“I do. Human teeth, and vampire teeth,” Kyuhyun answered honestly. “One behind the other, like a shark.”

“What’s a shark?”

“It’s a creature that lives in the ocean. Not near here, in a fountain or a river, but far away. I have a book with a picture of it.”

“Can I see?”

“You can. But that means we need to get up, because it’s in the shelf.”

“Good!”

Lap sitting abandoned in favor of some mystery, Jinyong twisted out of Zhou Mi’s arms and down onto the floor, only to immediately start pulling at Zhou Mi’s hand.

“Let him up so he can find the book.”

“Easy,” Zhou Mi told him, and squeezed Kyuhyun’s arm before standing.

Kyuhyun followed them to the row of shelves, and found the book of marine biology that he’d been looking for. The settee was just wide enough for two adults to sit comfortably far apart, which meant it would be perfect for two adults, and one tiny human.

So Kyuhyun sat, patting the cushion beside him. And with his hand still clutching Zhou Mi’s, Jinyong sat. It caused a dance, Zhou Mi switching hands so he could sit and well without his arm twisted, and in only moments his arm was along the back of the couch, fingers pressed to Kyuhyun’s shoulder, and Jinyong between them. The book stretched wide, its pages four times as old as Jinyong himself, with drawings of fish and strange creatures and what some would consider to be monsters.

“I hope this doesn’t bring nightmares,” Kyuhyun mouthed over Jinyong’s head.

Though the way Jinyong was oohing and ahhing, he didn’t think so. It became more about the book, and less about Kyuhyun and vampires. So Kyuhyun watched, as Zhou Mi interacted with Jinyong. The laughs, and squeezing his shoulder, and encouraging Jinyong to read the names, haltingly. And Zhou Mi listened as Kyuhyun told stories about the great monsters of the sea. It wasn’t because he watched Zhou Mi watching, and more that he glanced up every so often and found Zhou Mi smiling at him.

“It’s been chaotic the last few days, but I’m taking him to see if we can find his parents tomorrow,” Zhou Mi said, after he’d taking Jinyong up to bed.

“If you find them?”

Zhou Mi sat at the desk he used for correspondence. “Then it’s for the best.”

And Kyuhyun wondered.

***

It was hard to say who was holding on harder, him or Jinyong as Zhou Mi’s carriage rolled through the streets. They went away from the gas street lamps, to the wards where there were shops and where those with less lived. He himself had grown up two wards over, only they had been near the cattle processors, a cow adorning their fountain. The streets had been decorated with manure, and he’d often fallen asleep to the sound of lowing cattle.

His instructions had been for the driver to go up and down each street to inspect the fountains. If he found one, headless, he was to stop.

And eventually, the carriage did. Zhou Mi’s eyes closed momentarily, and he squeezed Jinyong’s hand.

“Let’s get out and walk a little ways.”

Jinyong looked up at him wordlessly, nodding. No tears, and Zhou Mi was thankful, because he wondered if he could have stayed strong instead of telling the driver to return to Kyuhyun’s home and that they would try again. Instead, he took a breath and stepped down as his driver opened the carriage door for them. He lifted Jinyong down, and took hold of the bag they had filled with Jinyong’s belongings that he had accumulated while with Zhou Mi. Sets of clothing, and his favorite toys, and several books.

A nod to his driver told him they would be back, and together they walked to the fountain. It seemed Jinyong had played at it, and if it had not been long, there would still be familiar sights to lead him home.

“It’s the fountain!” Jinyong said, leaning out away from Zhou Mi’s hand a bit. “My brother said the horse butt told us how to get home”

It was said with a giggle, and Zhou Mi’s heart twisted, swinging their hands together.

“Let’s see what we find following it, then,” Zhou Mi suggested.

They skirted the fountain and its continuous flow of water, and followed the billowing horse tail toward the street. It seemed the longer they were there, the more Jinyong saw that was familiar, the less apprehension he had. He was the one pulling Zhou Mi instead of the gentle tugging Zhou Mi had done to take Jinyong toward the fountain.

“I fell off that box once, and oh, that cat scratched me, but it likes me now!”

No matter how fast Jinyong went, however, he did not go faster than Zhou Mi. He did not let go of Zhou Mi.

And then Jinyong stopped, lifting his hand and pointing and then dragging Zhou Mi forward again.

“Mama!”

The woman they were walking toward looked up, and reacted as though she’d seen a ghost, stepping back, her face a mask of shock. The basket in her hands dropped, rolling on the ground as Jinyong raced for her. Zhou Mi held his breath, and before Jinyong could get there, she had dropped to her knees, and was there to gather him in.

“My baby. I didn’t think I’d ever see you again.”

“Mama. I’m okay, Mama.”

Zhou Mi’s throat was tight as he walked closer, and Jinyong was bubbling.

“Zhou Mi saved me! Vampires bit me but I didn’t cry much. And Zhou Mi knows vampires, too. Did you miss me?”

“I did,” she said, and stood to face Zhou Mi with a tightening face. “Thank you for returning my son. He… He disappeared. Kidnapped. And I thought never would I see him again.”

“It was nothing. I hoped to reunite him with his family. These are some things he’s been using. My address is there, in case you have questions.”

“Thank you, sir. Jinyong, go inside.”

Instead, Jinyong raced to him. Zhou Mi dropped to one knee and gave him a long hug. He felt the sobs more than heard them, and ordered his heart to be stronger.

“You’re safe,” Zhou Mi whispered. “If you need anything, you know how to find me.”

Jinyong nodded, meeting Zhou Mi’s eyes with his cheeks wet with silent tears. They considered each other, Jinyong’s lower lip beginning to tremble, before he turned and ran for the door.

“You should go. Thank you again, but you should go,” Jinyong’s mother told him.

“Yes,” Zhou Mi said. And he took her hand, pressing money into it. “Please use it for anything your children need. I’ll check in on him, after a while.”

And without a word, before she could protest his charity or anything else, he walked away. She was grateful for the return of her child, wary of a stranger. Jinyong had been happy when he’d seen her, happy to be held by her. Zhou Mi gave his driver a nod, and got into the carriage.

His first thought was of going to Kyuhyun, stripping and pressing himself against Kyuhyun’s back and forgetting the tears. But that would not be helping anyone but himself, not truly. Perhaps Kyuhyun would appreciate the warmth, but he would be doing it for himself. The tears were joy for Jinyong, and regret.

So instead Zhou Mi went to the sanitarium. Since he could not work near the patients most times without feeling sick - with grief and smells - he did what he could. He folded laundry, cleaned vegetables, spoke to family, mopped empty rooms. He worked until after midnight, until his back ached and his hands felt chapped. And then he went to his own home, not wanting to impose upon Kyuhyun and his staff again, and cleaned himself. His horse was led behind the carriage, because he felt too tired to even imagine riding that night, but he could ride back in the daylight.

Kyuhyun stood as soon as Zhou Mi entered, eyes shadowed.

“I’m sorry. I know I’m late. I was at the sanitarium, and—“

“I figured as much,” Kyuhyun said, stepping up close to him. “You weren’t here, and neither was Jinyong when I woke. You found his family?”

“I did.”

“Are you all right?”

“Yes. A child should be with his parents. It would have been different if we could not find them, but we did.“

“You did.”

“If he had been my child, if I didn’t know where he was, if he was all right. I couldn’t let them suffer like that. I could have provided him more in the way of physical things, but—“

“You would have given him everything he needed, don’t delude yourself about that,” Kyuhyun said. “You did what you thought was right, and you’ll be able to see him again.”

“It wouldn’t have been as hard— It would have been hard, still, but not as hard, because he cried. He was scared when we left, and perked up when he recognized his neighborhood, but when I left him there he cried.”

“He felt safe with you. You should be thankful for that. You made a horrible situation so much better, after you rescued him. Imagine if he’d just been stuck with me.”

Zhou Mi chuckled against the side of Kyuhyun’s face. “Who is deluding themselves now? You were sweet with him. You helped him to see that not all vampires were like the ones he’d known. And he’d have trusted you more, if he’d been here longer.”

“I have an image to maintain,” Kyuhyun said, but Zhou Mi knew it was only to make him smile. “What can I do for you?”

Zhou Mi let his hands settle on either side of Kyuhyun’s neck “You can take me to your bed.”

“How is me biting you going to make you feel better?”

But Kyuhyun was smiling, before Zhou Mi kissed him.

***

Every though Kyuhyun was fully satisfied, in every way he could hunger, he could tell Zhou Mi was still pensive. The longer Jinyong had been with them, the more Zhou Mi had grown attached. The little games, the way Zhou Mi smiled and praised him. Jinyong was a success, in Zhou Mi’s eyes, in his fight against the Bad Vampires. One battle, he’d been trying to win over and over. He’d won it, too, when he’d found Jinyong’s parents. But then he had to remind himself of the other things he had to fight for. But Kyuhyun was glad, because he couldn’t have imagined the heartbreak had Jinyong stayed longer. It grew only exponentially, day by day and moment by moment. And he refused to equate them with it, as he stroked Zhou Mi’s hair.

Zhou Mi murmured against his neck, something incomprehensible probably to both of them and he leaned into the motion. The heat of it. The humid warmth of Zhou Mi’s breath was a luxury to him, and he basked in it. The sun was finding its way to the horizon, and he could feel it. Maybe a few more kisses. He could have fallen asleep right like that, with the way Zhou Mi’s fingers were tracing his arm. He couldn’t feel the wound there any more, the long line of it up his forearm, but he knew that was what Zhou Mi was remembering.

“It healed up nicely.”

“Mm,” Zhou Mi hummed in agreement.

Zhou Mi’s head slowly lifted off the pillow and Kyuhyun looked at him. His face was tense, frowning as he stared at Kyuhyun’s arm. No longer sleepy in the slightest.

“I was too worried about you that night. I had a thought— Tell me everything that happened that night. Did they say anything? What did they do to you?”

Zhou Mi seemed ready to shake him if he didn’t comply, so even if he was confused Kyuhyun did tell him. The four men that had called him vampire, and beaten him. One or two men, he could take on his own. He could take more, physically, than what the average human could, but four was a different matter. They’d had sticks, sturdy and short and designed for beating.

“What happened after your arm was cut?”

“I don’t know. Someone was kneeling on my head and the others were holding or kicking me. I couldn’t see anything.”

“Did they have a bucket? Some kind of vessel?”

“Yes. One of them had a bucket. He was hitting me with it at first. I remember the clang as it bounced off my skull. But a bucket? Why— A bucket. A deep, clean cut.”

Zhou Mi’s eyes were bright, nodding as Kyuhyun was getting the picture.

“You think— You think they bled me. To sell my blood to humans. If the attacks were like mine, they might never know blood was taken.”

“I know,” Zhou Mi said.

“My blood could be putting people in that sanitarium. Your blood.”

Zhou Mi’s face sobered at that. “Yes.”

“This may be our opening,” Kyuhyun said. “Our— I thought that vampires were staying silent out of shame, that they were being bled like some robberies gone awry. But they might not know. There are those who would be very angry to know their blood is being used in this way. We always knew that. We just didn’t know— Bury the shame, build the anger.“

“The list of vampires you’ve been compiling,” Zhou Mi. “One of them may know someone who knows someone else. They can be our eyes.”

It seemed Zhou Mi had found his balance. Questions and prodding had not brought them answers. Perhaps anger would.

***


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The streets of Zhou Mi's city are being contaminated with a new drug - Euphoria. Pure vampire blood, it causes a high unlike any other, but when the high fades, the nightmares begin. It is the spread of Euphoria that Zhou Mi fights, and in that fight he needs a partner to get him to places and people that only a vampire can.

***

Kyuhyun groaned in satisfaction. He had fed, and Zhou Mi was stretched naked and similarly satisfied beside him. They’d sent so many messages that even Kyuhyun’s hand ached, and Zhou Mi had been a wizened old man unfolding himself from his chair. Zhou Mi had written out messages on Kyuhyun’s letterhead, and Kyuhyun and signed and sealed and addressed them. Endless pieces of paper. It made him glad that he could not be cut by the paper any more, half laughing as Zhou Mi nicked himself and then glared at Kyuhyun’s amusement as he sucked at his wound. Zhou Mi spoke with such anticipation as though the messages would go out and the answers would pour in. Kyuhyun had less hope than that, but it was still a start. It had not afforded them much time before sunrise, but he found he enjoyed winding down with a meal and sex, as Zhou Mi wiggled happily and put off enormous waves of heat.

“Be careful not to overtax yourself,” Kyuhyun said, stretching back over the bed. “If you fall ill and I can’t bite you, I might find someone else to bite until you’re better.”

He kept his eyes on Zhou Mi’s face, curious of the reaction. A little prod in the right place could incite jealousy in anyone. If Zhou Mi had told him he was going to find another man to have sex with, jealousy would not have been too strong a word. He imagined he’d have threatened to keep Zhou Mi from leaving, barring the door with his own body with necessary. Part of his brain said he’d play it cool, pretend he didn’t care, but he knew that was bullshit.

Zhou Mi, however, instead of gasping, or showing any obvious signs of panic, just smiled at him.

“But you only eat from one human at a time,” Zhou Mi reminded him, resting his head back on his arm, terribly secure and all but radiating it.

“Aren’t you smug,” Kyuhyun muttered. “Don’t be too full of yourself.”

“But you would not, would you?”

“I hate to prove you right, but no.” And he nudged his pillow into Zhou Mi’s face, making him laugh. “I can go without blood for some time, so you being ill would not force me from our agreement.”

“And you keep me too well satisfied to even think of seeking out someone else,” Zhou Mi told him, answering in kind. But the words were nearly a purr, and the sound stroked over Kyuhyun’s skin. He should hope so, he thought, rolling over to gain himself the benefit of Zhou Mi’s mouth.

The expression on Zhou Mi’s face was so pensive that it made him curious.

“What do you think of?”

Even so, Zhou Mi did not answer at once, curling closer to Kyuhyun.

“I have a question I’ve been meaning to ask you,” Zhou Mi said, smoothing down the hair in front of Kyuhyun’s ear before moving that hand to his shoulder and onto his back.

“I will answer if I can. If you promise to answer questions of mine also.”

“All right.” He nearly shivered, as Zhou Mi’s fingers traced his spine, eyes focused on his. “How long have you been a vampire?”

Oh, that conversation. The one he’d been hoping to avoid. No, that wasn’t strictly true. All vampires didn’t get deep into their pasts. Revealing it to the humans they bit was useless, since most of those humans would be in their lives for a short time, and any stories there were to tell were not pretty, happy ones.

He did not think that telling stories full of death and blood would raise the urge to mate in most humans of Kyuhyun’s acquaintance. And that tended to be one of Kyuhyun’s highest priorities, after feeding.

“A hundred years, a few more or less,” Kyuhyun said, seeing no logical reason for denying information to Zhou Mi. “I was almost twenty five when I was turned.”

Zhou Mi hummed, letting him know he understood, but his hand never stopped stroking Kyuhyun’s back.

“How… If you don’t mind saying, how did you get turned? I’ve heard vague stories, but most of them sound really fantastic and unbelievable.”

Kyuhyun snorted. “Then they’re probably true. It takes a special kind of vampire to turn a human. Are you sure you want to know?”

“Only if you want to tell me.”

A safe answer. A very Zhou Mi answer. He debated it only moments, before deciding to do it. He knew what Zhou Mi’s response would be. It might at least get him a little warmer before bed.

“I died,” Kyuhyun told him simply. “I had a sister once. I should have had nieces, nephews but she died too young. It was a year after she died, and I had not handled it well. Both my father and sister gone within two years. I turned to alcohol. I gambled. I got into fights, and sought out men to have sex with. It was more taboo then.”

“I’m sorry,” Zhou Mi told him. “I didn’t realize what a painful time for you that was.”

“But that’s not all.” And it had been so long since he had said it, that there were words he couldn’t hold back. “I died, because a vampire killed me. One of the men I tried to have sex with was a vampire. The thrall worked so well on me, I barely felt a thing when he ripped out my throat.”

Kyuhyun raised a hand to his neck, and sat up, feeling the air short as he relived that feeling. It was barely a mark on his mind, but it stood out stark among everything in his life.

“Drinking vampire blood does not make a vampire,” Kyuhyun continued, clearing his throat as he felt Zhou Mi sit up beside him. “He killed me and filled my wound with his blood, and left me in a gutter. It’s like being reborn, only you’re paralyzed for days, half alive and half dead as your body turns. The aversion of sunlight is the last thing that comes, and by that time I could crawl out of the refuse and protect myself.”

“He killed you,” Zhou Mi said, aghast.

“Yes. The teeth form toward the end, as the whole body changes. I was like a butterfly covered in shit, waking whole and starving and weak as a newborn baby.”

“What did you do? Did you find him? Surely he had to be stopped. It wasn’t as though you asked for it.”

Kyuhyun had expected sympathy and he got outrage. It almost made him want to laugh.

“I fed. I begged until someone fed me. Changmin found me, staggering all bowlegged toward a vampire den. He’d been turned several years before, so he knew… He knew. He helped me find humans, and to come to terms with what had happened. Not all vampires are turned so violently. Some are just humans a vampire cannot bear to see dead. I have never turned, will never turn, a human. But a vampire like that could not be allowed to continue.”

“Of course not.”

Kyuhyun patted Zhou Mi’s face. “Don’t worry. There’s no one left alive to play the avenger with. It took several months, but we found him, and ended him.”

“Good,” Zhou Mi said, and held Kyuhyun’s hand against his cheek. He hesitated, before asking, “Your mother?”

“She lived another twenty years, and I visited her only in the evenings. She never knew.”

Zhou Mi nodded. “I just kept thinking of that place by the stream. You’d been there before, before you were turned.”

“Yes, my parents would take us there. My sister and I would play there together, while our parents watched. Picnics in the afternoon.”

Zhou Mi kissed his cheek. “Thank you for showing it to me. Even without the sun there, I hope the memories you hold of it are lovely.”

“Yes. Having you there helped. I have gone there before to brood and remember. You were a pleasant distraction.”

And Kyuhyun remembering what they had done there. Biting Zhou Mi in a way Zhou Mi had never really expected.

“I answered more than a couple questions. Here, lie back,” Kyuhyun said, and pushed Zhou Mi into the pillows. It was not pleasant talk, but he wearied as the sun grew closer to the horizon. “What I would ask of you. Why do you fight the Euphoria?”

“It is not as sad or personally injurious as your tale,” Zhou Mi told him, curling his arm around Kyuhyun’s ribs. “But it was the sister of my kitchen maid. Perhaps her lover got her hooked, a way to sexual high. But they could not care for her, and I went looking for help. I found the Organization. I suppose you could say they recruited me, because it wasn’t just one woman, but so many people. I was young, without much direction. My family had not come from much, but came into money, so I had no need to work. It gave me purpose.”

“It makes you sad,” Kyuhyun corrected. “The people you can’t save. The people you can. You’d fight their battles for them.”

“I would try,” Zhou Mi said softly. “Being back in the wards brought back a lot of memories. This is the nearest I’ve been to interacting with vampires. I wrote a lot of letters. Maybe even to you.”

“It was rude of me not to write back.”

The laughed against each other, lips brushing as anxiety slipped away. He’d known Zhou Mi worked for strangers, known it from the beginning. Kyuhyun had teased him about it. And he had no doubt that if the vampire that had killed Kyuhyun - given him life - had been alive, that Zhou Mi would have added to his quest to see him punished.

“Those memories do not hold as much fear here. Perhaps because I’m not alone,” Zhou Mi said.

“Perhaps.”

“I nearly… I nearly came here after I left Jinyong with his parents,” Zhou Mi murmured.

“Really? I wouldn’t have been very talkative if you’d gotten here during the day.”

Zhou Mi chuckled. “Yes. But I didn’t want to be alone. I could’ve kept you warm at least.”

And comforted himself, against Kyuhyun, as though Kyuhyun were a large toy like Jinyong had been so fond of. But he could not focus on that, why Zhou Mi would have sought him out. Surely Zhou Mi had other friends, someone he could have turned to. Someone he trusted more than Kyuhyun, a vampire he barely knew. Though, they knew each other better then, with secrets deep and dark.

“Speaking of the fight. We meet with Sooyoung soon,” Kyuhyun said. “Perhaps she will feel more willing to offer her services this time.”

“I hope so,” Zhou Mi said, his voice grim as though he was going to will it to be so.

“Perhaps Changmin will not insult her again.”

Another chuckle, another kiss.

Just the barest tip of his nose rested against Zhou Mi’s, his hand at Zhou Mi’s stomach, with Zhou Mi’s arm around him. He felt the sun peek over the horizon, and smiled. “I will see you soon.”

“Rest well.”

He heard his name being whispered, a stroke against his hair, and he slept.

***

The sanitarium was not Kyuhyun’s favorite place to visit. Though he very much suspected it was not Zhou Mi’s as well. Compared to the first time Kyuhyun had been there, it smelled cleaner. Zhou Mi’s push for more staff had been effective, though Zhou Mi still felt his duty to help out. They would be checking on the patients the vampires were helping, and on the state of things only, not bathing in whatever stink Zhou Mi had come home covered in at times. Those were small favors.

“We have half a dozen new patients. The last week has seen an uptick in finding people incapacitated on the street,” Dr. Lee said, leading them through the halls. “Some are dropped at our doors, their family unable to care for them. We found a child on the street, screaming and abandoned. We can only hope the vampire therapy keeps working.”

“Are the newest patients in here?” Zhou Mi asked, stopping at the door of the largest room. In it, patients were evaluated for the severity of their illness.

“Yes, that’s right. Most are sedated, but it doesn’t help.”

“Do you have enough beds?” Kyuhyun asked, watching Zhou Mi slip into the room to check on their status. It was Zhou Mi’s only way to know if it was time to go beg for more funds.

“Yes. We acquired more from a closing hospital, storing them in case. The first patient that was being treated is recovering. He is able to help with light duties, mopping, and folding towels. It keeps him busy though we do not try to work him too hard.”

“Of course.”

“Kyuhyun!”

It seemed like his body lurched forward of his own accord, at the panic in the calling of his name. Zhou Mi’s voice. At first, Kyuhyun thought him to be in danger, ready to wrestle back a patient in the throes of terror. But he found Zhou Mi bent over a bed, the occupant of which filled it not even halfway.

The child’s face was bruised, but the features were familiar.

“Jinyong,” Kyuhyun said, surprised, even as Zhou Mi bolted upright and dashed for the door.

“The child. Where was he found?” Zhou Mi demanded of Dr. Lee.

“On the side of the street. The dog wards, where we suspect most of the selling is taking place.”

“A child couldn’t have bought Euphoria, and they do not give it for free.”

“No. He had bite marks on his neck, bruising on his arms and face. He might have been given Euphoria to calm him, if the thrall wasn’t enough for the vampire. I hoped the fact the vampire was biting him would help lessen his symptoms, but he has been in nightmares since his arrival.”

A nurse came out of one of the nearby rooms. “Doctor, could I get your assistance.”

“Of course, one moment,” Dr. Lee said. He looked at Zhou Mi in sympathy. “You know the child?”

“Yes. We rescued him from a vampire den.”

“I hope we can help him soon, then,” Dr. Lee said, and left to help other patients.

“This can’t be happening,” Zhou Mi ground out.

Kyuhyun had seen Zhou Mi in deepest apprehension, in joy and frustration and disgust. He’d seen anger, too, but nothing like what he was seeing right then in the empty hallway.

“We’ll help him,” Kyuhyun said.

“Why would they do that to a little child? Why? He never hurt anyone! He can’t have asked for it.”

Kyuhyun winced as the side of Zhou Mi’s fist met the wall, a sign of what he was feeling inside. A sign of what he’d like to do to the vampire or vampires that had put Jinyong in that position. He stepped forward, hoping to steady him in some way, touching Zhou Mi’s arm. Zhou Mi’s eyes were wet, and it was not from pain. He was furious, and he was terrified. And in Kyuhyun, he saw a solution. Kyuhyun could tell it in Zhou Mi’s face.

“You can bite him. The sooner he’s bitten, the better.”

Zhou Mi had never suggested he bite a patient before. They’d found perhaps the only patient that Zhou Mi would want him to bite - to where their bargain did not matter. He considered it only briefly, and discarded it, and it was no callous decision.

“I can’t. I can’t,” he repeated as Zhou Mi pulled him closer, nearly shaking him. “We have a bargain. No other humans, ’til the month is up.”

“Then we can break it. You could bite him immediately. Don’t you have a heart?“

“No. No, I can’t accept that. There’s another way—“

Zhou Mi’s argument was cut off by a high-pitched scream from the room Jinyong was in, the scream of a child, and all words vanished as they stared at each other. Arguing wasn’t going to help Jinyong.

“Come with me,” Kyuhyun said, and dislodging Zhou Mi’s grip from his jacket, he pulled Zhou Mi with him.

There was a distinctive scent on the air. The boy had wet his pants in terror, Kyuhyun realized. He wrapped his left hand solidly around Jinyong’s hand and looked up at Zhou Mi.

“Find me a pencil and paper, and a messenger boy. Hurry.”

Kyuhyun knelt beside the bed and stroked Jinyong’s fingers with his thumb.

“Jinyong, it’s Kyuhyun. Do you remember me? You can be calm now. Zhou Mi is getting help for you.”

At Zhou Mi’s name, Jinyong whimpered, and Kyuhyun wished his thrall could calm Jinyong more. Zhou Mi came back into the room with the requested items, and a teenager trailing behind. It took only moments to put the paper on the floor and scratch out a quick message. He folded it with his hand and knee, and wrote down an address.

“Boy, here. Take this message to this address. Don’t come back without the master of the house. He will not hurt you, or fight you. But bring him back here, immediately. There will be coin for you.”

“Yes sir,” the boy said, and bolted out of the room.

Only then did he extend his hand for Zhou Mi’s. There was a hesitation, and Kyuhyun knew it was because he had refused. It was not so easy for a vampire to break his word, to change the blood he took. Had he bitten Jinyong, he could have bitten Zhou Mi again but their agreement would have changed, possibly irrevocably broken. And he was not ready for that. He wasn’t ready to explain that to Zhou Mi.

“I can’t bite him,” Kyuhyun said, looking up at Zhou Mi. “Not just for you, but for him. I know when I promised him I would not bite him, that there was no provision for his safety. But what I can do for him, and for you, is the next best thing. Changmin will purge his blood of the Euphoria. He won’t deny us that. And I can keep him from his nightmares until Changmin arrives. Within the hour, I suspect. If he’s not comfortable here, we’ll move the boy to Changmin’s house. He’ll be all right.”

“You don’t know that,” Zhou Mi said. “But, thank you. I hadn’t thought— Thank you.”

“He’s wet himself. Perhaps we can get him clean clothes, or sheets at least.”

“I’ll get them. Please… Please stay with him.”

“Don’t worry, I will.”

Kyuhyun smiled up at Zhou Mi, trying to reassure him. He wasn’t sure how effective it was, but Zhou Mi let go of his hand and went to find something clean. Jinyong fell into some kind of a stupor, as Zhou Mi and a nurse cleaned him and covered him back up. Zhou Mi stroked the child’s hair.

“Jinyong, it’s Zhou Mi. I think Kyuhyun has a cookie waiting for you at home. We’ll read stories together and look at sharks.”

They stayed kneeling together at his bedside, Kyuhyun soothing him with his thrall, and Zhou Mi speaking in low tones. One hand he had petting Jinyong’s forehead and hair, the other tight on Kyuhyun’s waist as they leaned together. It took several times of assuring Zhou Mi that Changmin would be there, before Changmin actually arrived and Zhou Mi was on his feet immediately to make room.

“You said it was urgent,” Changmin said, stepping up beside them.

“This is the child we saved at the vampire den. He’s been… Someone has given him Euphoria.”

“I see. And I’m here because…?”

“There is no one else to trust with him,” Kyuhyun said, and twisted so he could meet Changmin’s eyes without letting go of Jinyong’s arm. “A new vampire couldn’t do this, not like the others. He’s barely more than a baby, so what can be taken isn’t much.”

Changmin’s eyebrows rose. “You want me to bite him?”

“Do you have an agreement with a human, something that would stop you?”

“No. But I don’t bite children.”

“You’ll be saving his life,” Zhou Mi said.

Kyuhyun stayed silent on the fact that Zhou Mi would have had Kyuhyun biting Jinyong. He suspected that if it broke the agreement between him and Zhou Mi, Changmin would have left immediately and left them no other choice.

“Please,” Kyuhyun said.

So Changmin knelt, and Kyuhyun relinquished his hold, letting Changmin’s thrall work instead. Kyuhyun got up, feeling life come back into his knees as he stared at Zhou Mi’s horrified face.

***

“You don’t have to watch,” Kyuhyun said, grasping his arm, hard. It did little to block the image of Changmin’s head mostly obscuring Jinyong’s. How afraid he would be, if he were awake, aware.

“I do, though,” Zhou Mi said, and believed it. “It’s my fault he’s like this.”

Kyuhyun sputtered, but Zhou Mi didn’t look at him, instead staring at the limp, thin arm.

“You saved him.”

“And put him back into danger. I was so happy to return him to his family, so blinded by that. And he seemed so happy to see his mother, that I didn’t even think to— Could they have sold him? He’s a child. He can’t have been taken twice. I returned him to the place that put him in danger.”

“Before you beat yourself up for it, let’s find out for sure.”

“And do what? Beat his family?”

“That might be satisfying,” Kyuhyun said, as though savoring the idea. “But if we know where they sold him, who they sold him to? Any information might help. They might’ve sold him to a Euphoria dealer for all we know.”

Zhou Mi pinched the bridge of his nose, and felt his mind congeal a little. “You’re right. You’re right. I didn’t even think of that.”

Kyuhyun’s tone was odd. “You have a lot on your mind.”

But they both stood at attention, when Changmin stood.

“I can taste the taint,” Changmin said. “Not having tasted another, I don’t know how strong it is. I took only a little, but I’ll bite him again when I see how he withstood this. You spoke of leaving?”

“Yes, to find his parents. Find out if they are the reason he’s like this.”

But the area of town that they lived in was not the best. He looked to Kyuhyun. “We rode our horses here.”

“My carriage is outside,” Changmin said. “Take it. You said you had a maid that looked after him? I want him moved to my home. She can care for him there. It might help to have someone familiar around.”

“That’s a good idea,” Zhou Mi said. “We’ll bring her when we return, so we can move him immediately.”

“We’ll move another patient, too,” Changmin said. “A child’s blood is not enough and I do not want to become accustomed to it. So I will talk with the doctor to see which patient can be moved.”

Somewhere in Zhou Mi was relief and gratitude, for both acts of kindness. He could only hold out his hand and wait for Changmin to grasp it in lieu of pretty words.

“Thank you.”

Changmin glanced at Kyuhyun. “Thank him,” Changmin said as he turned away.

***

Zhou Mi waited until they were in the carriage and underway before querying Kyuhyun.

“What did Changmin mean, to thank you? What did you write in the note?”

Kyuhyun was illuminated only by street laps, soft glows that lit his buttons and the little chain that draped out of one of the fake pockets of his vest. Zhou Mi always wanted to put a watch there, and thought that it would make Kyuhyun look a little silly, when he looked instead sort of artfully disheveled.

“I told him that he would come, or I wouldn’t forgive him. That’s all I needed to say.”

Zhou Mi hesitated. “What would you have done if he’d refused?”

“Found another vampire. We have lists. We’d have run one down ourselves if we had to.”

“But you knew he would?”

Kyuhyun was utterly still as he answered. “Yes. I knew he would.”

He’d really had no time to process anything, and he was so full of tension and horror, that he felt he could run faster than any horse. Instead, he turned and found Kyuhyun’s hand with his, resting his chin on Kyuhyun’s shoulder and breathing in the familiar scent of him. He wondered if Kyuhyun’s scent changed with fright, or if it stayed the same at all times. He’d never noticed, only knowing that as they moved together it grew stronger. And no matter where he breathed, whether at Kyuhyun’s hair, body, or where he was most aroused, he found that it stayed with him long after. It was soothing, then. The faint scent of Kyuhyun’s jacket, leather and cloth, and sweat, and musk.

Kyuhyun’s hand moved his, until Kyuhyun could squeeze Zhou Mi’s thigh.

“You’re holding up well.”

“I’m still gathering myself,” Zhou Mi admitted, putting his hand solidly over Kyuhyun’s again. “You helped.”

“That’s why I’m here,” Kyuhyun said.

Zhou Mi’s eyes closed when he realized how literal those words could be taken. Kyuhyun was there to help, because Zhou Mi was allowing him to bite him. A second interpretation would be that he was there because he wanted to help Zhou Mi. Zhou Mi knew which of those he preferred. There was something bitter in that moment of knowing their bargain, in that he could not gauge if Kyuhyun was there because he wanted to be. And yet still, he drew strength from Kyuhyun beside him. Words of thanks seemed superfluous as he rested against Kyuhyun’s shoulder and rubbed his thumb over the back of Kyuhyun’s hand. Clever, strong, beautiful hands that had caused him laughter, pleasure, and had been such a help, so much so that he could not have dreamed its measure.

But as his maudlin thoughts faded, his anger rose. So many questions and accusations roared through him. They had done so much, and in the process of it, someone he cared for was hurt despite it. A tiny, innocent boy that had brought joy to him and hope in their quest. Think of Jinyong, and keep working, he’d told himself.

He would think of Jinyong and keep fighting.

“You sound like a bull about to charge,” Kyuhyun murmured, squeezing Zhou Mi’s thigh. “Don’t worry. I’ll keep you from doing that, too.”

The carriage began to slow.

"We're here," Zhou Mi said, and his voice was so tense.

"Hey. We will do this," Kyuhyun said. "Look at me."

Zhou Mi lifted his chin and though he could not see anything at first, he caught the silhouette of Kyuhyun's head just in time to firm his mouth to meet Kyuhyun's kiss. It did not take away his tension, but he did not take it to be intended so.

" _We_ will do this," Kyuhyun said again.

Kyuhyun. His partner in fighting the Euphoria. His vampire, he had once told Jinyong.

The carriage came to a complete stop, and Zhou Mi did not wait for any niceties of being let out. His hand was on the handle immediately, and he could feel Kyuhyun's hand on his shoulder as he climbed out behind him.

"We won't be long," Zhou Mi told the driver.

"Take your time, sir."

Zhou Mi knew he would not want to stay very long, he knew that for certain. He was not of the type to commit murder, but if these people had sold their child - He could not guarantee that the urge to violence would not rise in him. Kyuhyun might hold him back, or join in. He didn't know.

Kyuhyun did not try to move in front of him, staying behind him as Zhou Mi went up to the door. He could feel fingers pressing into his lower back, solidarity, as he pounded on the door. He didn't know what he would do if no one was there. He'd prepared himself so well for dealing with them, but he realized they could be gone. Moved.

But he heard movement and inclined his head. A woman opened the door, a familiar woman. He knew he could see, in the light that spilled out, how severe his face was.

"Ma'am," he said.

And she tried to close the door in his face. Like that would make him disappear.

"We need to talk about your son."

"No! Please, go away! My husband―"

"Is he here?"

She shook her head. "No. If he knew you were here, he wouldn't be happy."

"But you know why we're here."

Her hand dropped, limp, off of the door. "Yes. Come in, quickly. Say what you have to say, and go."

Zhou Mi had not seen the inside of the home when he had been there before. It was clean enough, but in a corner several children, younger than Jinyong, were huddled and staring at him and Kyuhyun as though they were there to eat them. He tried imagining living his life in that kind of fear, and could not. A touch to his arm had him looking left, and saw several more children, ranging from a baby to a teenager.

His eyes met Kyuhyun's, and he had a sinking feeling that he knew what had happened.

"Tell me what happened. You said Jinyong was kidnapped," Zhou Mi said quietly, stepping close to the obviously frightened woman. "That's not what happened, is it?"

She shook her head. "No. We didn't have― There was no food. My husband knew of someone who took in children."

"Vampires."

She winced, as though the word hurt her. "Yes, sir."

"And me returning him, you could sell him all over again. I gave you money.”

"I wanted to keep him!" she cried. “He was so happy to be back. He was so― My baby. How did you know?"

"Do you know of the Euphoria?"

"Vampire blood?" she said, hesitating before speaking.

"Yes. Your child. That baby. That bright little boy, was blighted by it, likely to some vampire's amusement."

"No."

"How did you choose him?" How among those bright and frightened faces had Jinyong been discarded. But instead of waiting for an answer, Zhou Mi shook his head. "How did your husband know where to take him? Does he work for vampires?"

He wanted to find his compassion, to soften his tone, but until he had his answers, he could not.

***

“We need hands,” Zhou Mi said, and that was his plea. “We need men who can fight, anyone who can hold a line. We have to move quickly.”

Kyuhyun wondered if he was of the first vampires in the office of the Organization, but perhaps not. The man Zhou Mi spoke of for his dedication to the cause, this Daniel, listened with focused attention as Zhou Mi explained what they had learned.

“I have spoken with Dr. Lee many times,” Daniel said. “And there are men always at the ready, but for what you speak of, I don’t think they will be enough.”

They could not do it halfway or risk giving up every advantage. A Euphoria storehouse had the chance of being their first true breakthrough besides how to help the victims of it.

“I’ve been gathering help, not an army,” Zhou Mi said, rough frustration coloring his words.

“But you have,” Kyuhyun said. “What of the Chois?”

Both men turned to look at Kyuhyun, and instead of Zhou Mi twisting the life out of his jacket and his hands, he nodded.

“Yes. Perhaps I can persuade her.”

“Then we will be ready,” Daniel said, though part of that was to their backs as they all but ran from the house.

“The Chois,” Zhou Mi said, like he couldn’t even believe it.

But it was what they could do. They found a man to run a message to Changmin on outside of the Organization office. Even with the Organization, even if Sooyoung would help, they needed more. Kyuhyun would have gone to Changmin himself, had they had the option, but there was no time to detour. They needed hands, more of them that they had found, and the only place those could be found were with the Choi family.

Sooyoung’s home was not the den of hell that Kyuhyun might have imagined. There were no vampires pinned and screaming at its walls, or portals into artificial sun. But he got down from the carriage, waiting only a moment for Zhou Mi to climb down after him. In Zhou Mi’s hand he glimpsed the stuffed rabbit that Zhou Mi had taken from Jinyong’s mother, before it was tucked into Zhou Mi’s pocket. It had been Jinyong’s favorite toy, and Kyuhyun knew it would fuel Zhou Mi.

“We would see Sooyoung,” Zhou Mi told the guards, giving them his card. “Tell her we have information of a Euphoria storehouse and it is urgent.”

It took less than a minute, before one returned. “She says the human might enter. The vampire stays.”

“He is my partner in this. We enter together,” Zhou Mi told them. “This is not time for propriety.”

Apparently provision had been made for such a demand, because the two men looked at each other and nodded, and let them pass. Still, he could feel the weight of their stares on his back as they climbed the stairs to the main entrance. A footman opened the door for them, and led them to a sitting room where Sooyoung was standing, waiting for them. Her dress was nearly as dark as the shadows and her eyes were for Zhou Mi alone, and Kyuhyun wondered again how many vampires had stood in his spot. It was a night of firsts, but battles called for that. He kept himself several inches behind Zhou Mi’s elbow, acknowledgement of her fear but not so far that he shamed himself.

“You said you had urgent news,” Sooyoung said.

“And a request. The story, quickly. If you remember, I had under my care a human child whom I had rescued from the vampire den,” Zhou Mi said. “He was returned to his family, but has been found only days later in a Euphoria high. We went to interrogate his family on how that had happened, and under some duress, his mother told us that her husband works for someone who keeps the Euphoria. Some sort of storehouse, or intake facility. He works there at night, and sold his son to vampires to feed their children. We need to find that storehouse. She gave us an address, in the dog ward.”

“We cannot dally with this,” Kyuhyun said, not caring that she thought he was a lesser being because he was a vampire. “If she tells her husband we were there, he might alert them, and it would be moved.”

Sooyoung stared hard at them. “But what if it is a small supplier? What if it could lead us to a larger place. Or even another.”

“They might have paperwork inside,” Zhou Mi argued. “Something that would give us information. There might be vampires bound for bleeding, or humans to feed them. I know we do not rush in without thought, but this is one chance we have at cutting off a supply. I know small stores have been found, but from the tale she told us, her husband is one of a dozen workers. Surely that can be no little place.”

“I agree with that. You come here hoping for hands to fight if necessary.”

“We are but two. Changmin who is on his way,” Kyuhyun said, “and Zhou Mi is not trained to fight. We’ve just come from his Organization, and there will be twenty men on his order within the hour. For a handful of men that would be enough, but many of these do not know combat, either.”

“I see. I will help, but on one condition. Vampire or human, those we capture are mine. Any information, paraphernalia, also mine. I will allow you access to documents,” Sooyoung allowed, still looking at Zhou Mi only. “And any information I acquire in interrogations I will tell freely, but I do not want someone monitoring. I’m not accustomed to sharing.”

“I appreciate that. And I can agree to that,” Zhou Mi told her. “Our purposes are aligned here, and the Organization is not built to deal with things like you speak of. Though perhaps they need to become so.”

Sooyoung inclined her head in silent agreement. “Summon the Guard,” Sooyoung said to her footman, who disappeared immediately. She then smiled at Zhou Mi. “Sometimes it’s fun to say that. We will find your storehouse, and surround it.”

And at that, Kyuhyun stepped forward. “I have studied many modes of attack and surprise. I would be glad to lend any assistance.”

Sooyoung nodded, and looked up at him. “Then perhaps you will go with my best man. Observe from the shadows before we arrive, and give strategy.”

“He will not mind working with a vampire?”

“There is nothing you could do to hurt him,” Sooyoung told him, and Kyuhyun wondered if he should be offended. “Zhou Mi can ride with me.”

“Is that wise?” Kyuhyun asked, almost under his breath as he turned to Zhou Mi. “Do you fight?”

“I won’t be left behind.”

“But Jinyong—“

“I didn’t say I would fight someone hand to hand. But I can help.”

Kyuhyun could tell that he’d irritated Zhou Mi, and for good reason. On his side, there was concern, and on Zhou Mi’s, there was a need to be involved. It was because of Zhou Mi that they had found the storehouse at all. Kyuhyun would have balked to be left out of it as well.

Sooyoung walked to the door ahead of them. “When my men arrive, we will go.”

“We’ll wait in the carriage,” Zhou Mi said, and kept hold of Kyuhyun’s arm as they went out into the brisk air.

In the privacy of the closed-in space, Kyuhyun was more secure. Something about that house, the house of a family he’d learned to have some respect and fear of, made him uncomfortable.

“Do you think we can trust her?” he asked, sliding his knee against Zhou Mi’s.

“I think we have to. She’s wise to send you along first, to get the lay of things. We won’t tarry, though. If they have papers. Information.”

“Do not build it up too much. We find what we find.”

“That’s true. And whatever we find won’t be the end. But it’ll be start,” Zhou Mi said. “Here, before we go.”

Kyuhyun frowned at the strange angle Zhou Mi was holding his head.

“You want me to bite you before we— I can’t weaken you like that.”

“We don’t know how long this will take, and how long we’ll have after. You already said I wouldn’t be out first, if there were any fights. Besides, you’re the one who’ll need the strength.”

Or the comfort of it. There was something about touch that was unexplainable. Something about the way Zhou Mi’s fingers curled over his and gripped tight as he leaned in. Instead of biting right away, he kissed, pressing his lips right at the point of Zhou Mi’s jaw, and feeling him exhale. Kissing down where the flesh grew softer, blood rich and flowing.

He breathed in and could not smell it, but he could smell everything about Zhou Mi. The scent of sweat, the hint of fear - not of him, but of the situation. Nerves running high, even as their fingers tangled tighter. And as Zhou Mi’s head tilted over his, closer, Kyuhyun bit. He could feel Zhou Mi’s pulse, hear his even breaths and the tiny grunt as Zhou Mi held still for him.

It was only the space of five heartbeats before he let go, licking Zhou Mi’s skin to clean him, and kissing against the wet he’d left behind. He let his lips trail down Zhou Mi’s neck, until he could breathe into Zhou Mi’s collar.

“Kyuhyun?”

“It was enough,” Kyuhyun told him.

And they waited like that, in silence with their hands clasped and heads resting together, maybe fifteen minute more until Sooyoung’s man arrived.

“I’ll see you soon,” Kyuhyun said as he climbed out of the carriage. They would go to the storehouse, and they would surround it, overtake it. And for Zhou Mi, he hoped there would be information that would lead to more.

***

It grated at Zhou Mi to be an extra. The men, and he supposed they could be called soldiers in the fight against Euphoria, looked at him as nothing more than a gentleman, a pocket. Sooyoung saw him as a tool, but not one to fight with. He was more a pen than anything more deadly. Kyuhyun was not much different, but his opinion in the strategy, and being a vampire, meant that he was useful.

Zhou Mi’s use rested in that he hung back, out of the way, waiting for the soldiers to make their way before him. And even what they found he could not control, because he had bargained it away to Sooyoung.

But at least he was not relegated to staying where his carriage had been directed, sitting crossways cutting off access by street out of sight of the storehouse. He’d stayed there only for a few minutes, waiting to be fetched for the moment of their attack. He’d had the soft nose of his carriage horse to pet as he’d waited, at least. Red, a large black horse whose previous owner had perhaps had a sense of humor.

“You and I and Silky will hold this line here for this moment,” he said, as Red nudged into his hand. “Up there, Kyuhyun is waiting to be a general. We’ll come along at his flank. Or something like that.”

If only he knew what they’d find. He wanted to ask the people why. Why they would get involved in something that hurt people, and how they could continue once they knew. He thought of Jinyong’s parents, and the fact that they - his father at least - had sold one of his own children ostensibly to feed his family. According to Jinyong’s mother, the man gambled, though. So Zhou Mi doubted that money, or even the money Zhou Mi had left, had gone much to his children at all.

Zhou Mi wondered if that man would be found there, and what would happen to him, or to his family. It seemed he was not so easily washed of it as he had thought, in taking Jinyong away.

“Human beings are hard to understand,” Zhou Mi told Red, scratching behind his heavy, pricked ear.

Though Zhou Mi caught sound as well, soon after, watching until a man rounded the corner.

And it took only a moment until he recognized who it was.

“You made it,” he called to Changmin.

“I did. They’re just about ready to make their way in, so Kyuhyun sent me to bring you.”

Zhou Mi had wondered if Kyuhyun would forget on purpose to have him called for. He was glad in that at as well he had been able to trust Kyuhyun. With one last pat to Red’s cheek, Zhou Mi strode forward to meet with Changmin. He wasn’t delaying even one moment.

“And you agreed? I thought you didn’t like me,”

Changmin laughed. “I have no opinion on you as a person.”

“You just don’t want me near Kyuhyun.”

“You won’t be for much longer,” Changmin said, but there wasn’t much heat to it. They approached the part of the street where they were going.

“Jinyong?”

“Resting, and well looked after.”

Zhou Mi was glad for that. But he couldn’t focus on it. He just wanted inside. He was antsy for it. There were muffled sounds, and it was torture to walk leisurely once he was finally seeing the entrance that had been out of sight from where his carriage blocked the road.

“Kyuhyun is on the other side of the storehouse now. There are two levels.”

There would be men at every door and window, in every alley and means of escape. It could not be done slowly, some quiet march, because there were men who watched for just such a thing. And Zhou Mi’s whole body jerked when he heard the first cry of alarm - and not from their own people.

“Stay with me," Changmin barked, and they ran as men raced out of the shadows. It sounded like thunder, shouts on the air from those who’d been within and those who invaded. There was the sound of rumbling stairs and racing feet and the smell that greeted Zhou Mi at the entrance as he pushed in beside Changmin was smoke. There were men held on the floor and being tied, men struggling.

“They’re trying to burn the papers?” Zhou Mi asked, and a man of Sooyoung’s looked up.

“A few pages, no more. We put it out.”

“Did anyone escape?”

“Not that I’m aware of.”

Nine people altogether, and those were only the ones Zhou Mi had seen. Nine people who possibly had information about everything they’d been after. More storehouses, more people involved in the production of the Euphoria. It was organized chaos, Zhou Mi staring at half a dozen humans who were tied up along a wall of one room.

“Only humans?” Zhou Mi asked a passing man.

“Two vampires upstairs, sir.”

“Would you have been the first man in?” Changmin asked, amused as Zhou Mi searched the shelves for any books, any clues.

“I realize this is my strength. Kyuhyun was involved in the strategy of the attack, and I was deemed fit to be the tail.”

“Strategy is his interest,” Changmin said, sounding amused. There was only a hint of smoke on the air as they made their way, people milling and getting out of their way as they advanced up the stairs. Kyuhyun met them halfway up.

“Ah, he found you,” Kyuhyun said, and before Zhou Mi could even open his mouth to ask, he’d started to fill him in. “The bottom floor seemed to used only for preparation, and sleeping and eating and shitting. There were no humans using Euphoria here it seems, since the Euphoria was kept locked up. So this was no den of distribution. We think they would’ve tried to destroy the storeroom, too, but our people got in too quickly. I brought up the rear since some of the humans were a little skittish about vampires.”

“Who better to fight a vampire?” Changmin wondered.

“Exactly. There are ledgers, and stacks— Stop drooling, Zhou Mi.”

Zhou Mi didn’t even spare a glance at Kyuhyun, following the hall of the upper floor and peeking into rooms. There were tables, measuring devices and basins. There was a vial of blood broken on the floor. Undoubtedly from when they’d been interrupted.

“Where they measured out what to sell?” Zhou Mi surmised.

“I’ve seen a couple of rooms like this,” Kyuhyun said, shaking his head. “And if this is only one location?”

Zhou Mi didn’t even want to think of it.

“You found him,” Sooyoung said. “This place is amazing. To have shut a large operation down like this? Zhou Mi, I had no idea of the scale of this. The humans and vampires here are being questioned. There are more papers in the rooms here. We need every set of eyes, in case another of their locations can be found.”

Which meant she would not hold him from it. It had exceeded even her expectations. For him, he was trying not to let his anticipation get the better of him.

“Yes. It won’t be long before news of this spreads.”

And the operations would be even more underground than normal.

“Can you help us then, immediately?”

“Of course. I can be here until I am of no more use,” Zhou Mi assured her.

“Good. Thank you.”

“I’m afraid you’ll have to do without these two sets of eyes,” Changmin said. “Dawn is threatening.”

Sooyoung smiled at him. “Of course. That’s why we’re questioning the vampires first. You both are free to leave.”

“We’ll take our leave then.”

“Please do,” Sooyoung said, stepping to move past them.

“Our meetings were truly enlightening,” Changmin said, and reached out to still her when she did not stop to listen.

Zhou Mi inhaled as Changmin’s hand brushed her arm, the barest sliver of skin exposed between glove and sleeve. It took only a second, Sooyoung’s hand snapping out, the sound of her gloved hand striking Changmin’s cheek muffled. Zhou Mi was frozen, looking to Kyuhyun who seemed equally as still.

“Please, do not touch me.”

“I didn’t mean to,” Changmin said quickly, holding his hands up as though to assure her of that. “Not like that.”

“I know. That’s why I didn’t go for your balls,” she said.

Some of the genuine fear went out of Sooyoung’s eyes, and her posture relaxed. He would have stepped forward, put space between her and the vampires, but he suspected that he would not have been welcome either.

“A surprisingly effective method on vampires as well,” Changmin said, as though to show her he wasn’t angry. “When the sun doesn’t threaten, we may be of some use to each other.”

“That might be true,” she said. “Have a safe journey home.”

Her voice was even, in control, and she did not move an inch until Changmin nodded politely at her and turned to go to the stairs. But Kyuhyun waved Zhou Mi along with him, and Zhou Mi followed so they could speak at the top of the stairs.

“I’ll leave with Changmin, then. We will let your driver know that you are staying longer,” Kyuhyun said.

“Thank you.”

Kyuhyun frowned at him. “How long do you mean to stay? You have not slept either. Don’t fall down these stairs trying to prove yourself.”

“I won’t. You’ve taught me my stair navigating limits,” Zhou Mi said, and got a brief smile from Kyuhyun. “If I stay too long, though, you’ll know why if you wake up and I’m asleep in your bed.”

“Do that anyway,” Kyuhyun suggested.

Zhou Mi wondered if the smile on his face was as silly as it felt, as he leaned in to kiss Kyuhyun. Not long, or long enough to embarrass either of them. There were only a couple of people in the stairwell, and none of them paying attention besides Changmin and Sooyoung.

“Thank you for everything you did to make this happen,” Zhou Mi said. “I’ll see you tonight.”

“Can we spend most of it off our feet?”

Zhou Mi knew what that meant. But Kyuhyun didn’t wait for an answer, smirking and returning down the stairs to where Changmin waited. Zhou Mi, in turn, went back up towards Sooyoung.

“It seems you have him tamed,” she commented.

“Is anyone ever truly tamed?” Zhou Mi asked, amused. “But he has been a gift. Without him, I doubt we would have found a storehouse like this so quickly, and without giving them cause to hide it first.”

“Yes. There is a wealth here. Come with me. I want to show you something.”

He followed her down the hall, into a room empty but for a chair and table beside an second open door.

“There was a guard on this room,” Sooyoung said. “One at each door. You’ll see why.”

And he did, as she let him pass by. It was another room, and the gas lamps on the walls illuminated the walls in an eerie red glow. Because on the rows of shelves that lined the room were jars of blood.

That was what they had gone there for. Not the people, or the papers. The blood. Each jar was taller than his hand was long, some full to the brim and others with only dregs. But each were carefully placed and maintained, each with names and dates written on them.

“Blood that we’ll make sure not harm humans,” Zhou Mi said at last.

Sooyoung nodded at him. “Yes. That is exactly what I thought as well. And so much of it. If this is only a fraction…?”

His stomach churned even to think of it. That so much could be spreading and causing pain.

“I wonder why they took such care to label them,” Zhou Mi said, touching one jar. The liquid inside sloshed, and even in that movement became very real.

“Perhaps they were trying to see if one was more potent than another? Or how long they were still effective. We found ledgers, there on the floor. Perhaps they will contain more information. ”

There could be any number of reasons there. Revenge somehow, or knowing from which vampires they had taken blood. Though Zhou Mi kept his eyes open for Kyuhyun’s name. He knew he had agreed to leave everything to Sooyoung, but he felt his right to take it and destroy it would have overridden that. To let Kyuhyun destroy it.

“It is one step,” he said at last. It was not in him to believe that what they were seeing was the whole. But it was a start. It told them it was possible to stem the tide of Euphoria.

“It is. Will you go over the ledgers with me?”

“Of course,” he said.

“We can use the chairs here, then. I’ve brought paper, ink, in case we have notes to take.”

“Thank you. I did not think of that.” And while Sooyoung laid out her supplies on the table, Zhou Mi wondered if it was his place to speak about what happened with Changmin. “Changmin frightened you. I’m sorry for that.”

“You have no fault in it. He apologized, and that is enough. My reaction is not something I can apologize for. It was ingrained in me since before I could walk.”

“You should not have to He knew you did not wish to be touched.”

She considered him, and nodded. “You are not friendly with him, as you are with Kyuhyun.”

Zhou Mi picked up a chair, carrying it closer for her.

“I do not know him well, truthfully. Only through what Kyuhyun has told me. It is he who has a problem with me, for my connection to Kyuhyun.”

“I found it strange myself. But not so, not after your combined efforts brought us this.”

“Yes.”

He did not know what else to say. They had gotten lucky, and with much help they were where they were. Zhou Mi blew out a breath, awash with excitement as Sooyoung laid out the ledgers.

“How much longer are you bitten?”

“Less than a week,” Zhou Mi said, hardly able to believe that as well.

“Will one of your brothers in the Organization take your place to keep his help?”

Zhou Mi had not let himself think on that, not consciously anyway. It was possible, of course. Kyuhyun would need to keep feeding, and there were others who would be willing to step in to see Kyuhyun’s continued help. But there were not many that resisted the thrall. Zhou Mi was one of the few in that regard. But perhaps when they were through, Kyuhyun would want someone who was more docile, having finished with his experiment with a human without thrall. Perhaps Kyuhyun was already planning it, but found it rude to discuss until their contract was up. Zhou Mi had not thought that he would step out Kyuhyun’s door only to pass another man going in.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you.”

Zhou Mi wondered how fierce he had begun to look when Sooyoung said that.

“Do not worry. You didn’t. Kyuhyun will make his own choices when the time comes. I will not be party to those.”

“For your neck’s sake, it must be a relief.”

It was only in his mind that the last place Kyuhyun had bitten pulsed.

“Yes, I suppose it will be.”

And after that, there was no more conversation besides comparing what the ledgers contained, the interruptions of men relaying information from their prisoners, and the rising of the sun.

***

Zhou Mi woke to a movement on the bed, opening one eye and seeing the very distorted view of a familiar face. Given that he was in that person’s bed, that made sense. With a sound, he moved closer, humming as he pressed his lips against Kyuhyun’s face.

“You made it back,” Kyuhyun said, his fingers sinking through Zhou Mi’s hair and sending a tingle down his spine.

“I did.”

“No other storehouses found?”

“Not yet. I was starting to fall asleep on the papers, but stopped by to see Jinyong after.”

“I imagine drooling is frowned upon,” Kyuhyun teased. “Will you be going back?”

“Yes. After dark, sometime.”

Kyuhyun chuckled. “Given that I’m awake, it is after dark.”

“I have time.” Time, like to struggle with the covers and push himself onto his knees, and then straddle Kyuhyun’s hips. Zhou Mi reached for the light, watching the gas begin to glow so he could see Kyuhyun’s face more clearly. “I missed this last night.”

“I miss it every hour,” Kyuhyun said, his hands resting on Zhou Mi’s thighs.

Maybe not every hour.

“Let’s make up for it tonight,” he suggested, and found no complaint.

He wondered how people got bored of kisses, of touches. Kyuhyun’s lips clung to his, and it was the taste of him, the feel of him - it was a promise that sent heat through him, and made his body rise. It would not have been so, if Kyuhyun had not wanted with him. But Kyuhyun’s fingers digging into his skin, tongue teasing his upper lip, and hips moving in gentle friction to his.

“What do you want?” Zhou Mi asked, before pressing kisses down Kyuhyun’s jaw.

Hands gripped his shoulder blades. “It seems like you’ve already got me on my back. It’d be a shame to move.”

That suited Zhou Mi just fine. To hear Kyuhyun’s moans as he teased him with the oil, making him hard and sliding fingers deep so that Kyuhyun wanted as much as he did. Maybe even more, as the way Kyuhyun gripped his ass as pulled him in as soon as he began.

He kissed down the flush that spread down Kyuhyun’s breastbone, and brought his hips slow and even against Kyuhyun’s. Faster than the water against the shore, but so deliberate in his slowness, so that they both could feel every movement. Kyuhyun might have a dozen, a hundred men after Zhou Mi, but he would remember Zhou Mi. Maybe for his lack of thrall, or for what they did in bed, or perhaps out of it. But he would remember. The moan was ragged from Kyuhyun’s throat, and it sent his pulse leaping.

Kisses across Kyuhyun’s shoulder, up his neck, until Zhou Mi could breathe there against Kyuhyun’s throat. The ridge of his jaw against Zhou Mi’s upper lip, feeling the heat of his breath warm Kyuhyun’s skin. He could not bite Kyuhyun, but there were other sensations he could give. Ways he could make him feel what Zhou Mi felt when Kyuhyun breathed harsh against him and made Zhou Mi wonder when the bite would come.

“Mm,” he grunted against Kyuhyun’s ear, as he changed the angle of his hips.

Using his tongue, he drew the heavy lobe between his lips, worrying it gently between his teeth as he sucked and teased. As though it were another part of Kyuhyun entirely. There were little gurgles, like Kyuhyun was trying to talk but couldn’t, absent clutches at Zhou Mi’s back.

“You’re dissolving my brain,” Kyuhyun forced out moments later.

And all Zhou Mi could do was chuckle, feeling Kyuhyun’s nails dig as Zhou Mi’s will to go slow eroded. What he wanted then was not to tease, but to race and see who would find their completion first.

Maybe he’d eroded his own brain but his lips were still dragging up Kyuhyun’s face, feeling Kyuhyun’s knuckles graze his stomach as he stroked himself. He was still tired, he reasoned. But as soon as Kyuhyun shuddered, a sound on an exhale as he came, Zhou Mi had no will left to but to follow.

It was completely possible that with Kyuhyun he’d had more sex than he’d had with all the partners he’d ever had combined. He knew that Kyuhyun’s belly was sensitive, that touching it, kissing it, could make him gasp. That his neck and ears made Kyuhyun squirm in pleasure, that he loved his head massaged, and enjoyed long kisses and tongue strokes. Zhou Mi knew the way Kyuhyun’s breathing changed just before he came.

He knew more about Kyuhyun than he did about any other person, human or vampire. But Kyuhyun was so very human. Warm against his fingertips, pulse faint but strong beneath his skin, as Kyuhyun faced him, wound around him.

Zhou Mi nuzzled his face against Kyuhyun’s hair and let himself breathe Kyuhyun in.

***

He wasn’t sure how long he slept before a knock on the door woke him.

“Sir, a carriage sent by Miss Choi for Mr. Zhou is here.”

“I’ll be down soon,” Zhou Mi called.

He let his head drop back down against Kyuhyun’s for a moment, blissfully recalling the sleep and warmth. But he knew he couldn’t just fall back into it, and with a groan, pushed himself up. The noise of protest that Kyuhyun made let him know that he wasn’t the only one feeling that loss.

“I’ll be—“ Zhou Mi had to clear his throat before speaking again, voice coming out rusty at first. “I’ll be helping Sooyoung again tonight. We didn’t find any other addresses last night since it looked like they were keeping things fairly separate. But any clues to another leader, we’re hoping will help.”

“I see. How long did you sleep before I woke you?”

Zhou Mi shimmied into his trousers. “Four hours. Five maybe? Enough, for now. Hopefully after tonight I’ll be able to rest more.”

“Your brain can only do so much. And this was not the horizontal you promised me.”

“I know.”

With his jacket on, Zhou Mi went back to Kyuhyun’s side of the bed. “I’ll see Jinyong after but I’ll be back in time for you to feed.”

“Sure you don’t need me with you?”

“I think Sooyoung wouldn’t appreciate that. Even if she imagines I can control you.” It got Zhou Mi exactly what he’d been hoping for: Kyuhyun’s laughter. “Would you believe me if I said that was my reaction, too?”

“No,” Kyuhyun retorted. “I imagine it was much closer to smug.”

Kind of like Kyuhyun’s lips just before Zhou Mi kissed him.

***


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The streets of Zhou Mi's city are being contaminated with a new drug - Euphoria. Pure vampire blood, it causes a high unlike any other, but when the high fades, the nightmares begin. It is the spread of Euphoria that Zhou Mi fights, and in that fight he needs a partner to get him to places and people that only a vampire can.

***

There was something unique about waking against a warm man. Not just for the heat of him, but the sound, and the smell. Even well-washed, he could press his nose to Zhou Mi’s skin and inhale, rich and comforting. Stimulating, even, and not always in a sexual way.

He had dreams, sometimes, of them in the sunlight. Zhou Mi’s back was soaked with sweat and glistening, the muscles of his chest defined, stomach taut beneath Kyuhyun’s fingers as he moved around him. He was never sure what they’d been doing. Digging, running, it didn’t matter as Zhou Mi smiled as Kyuhyun pulled his head down. He smelled of grass, and dirt, and sweat, and of the heavy afternoon air heated by the sun.

And most times when he woke, the bed was cold and empty.

But sometimes, like the night after the raid, it was so warm that he almost did not regret waking and knowing that he would never see Zhou Mi’s face in the sun. And he would never tell Zhou Mi of the dreams, either. Waking warm was the next best thing, and watching Zhou Mi wake. Creases on his cheek from the pillow and hair standing up on one side, he’d been adorable as well as arousing as he’d moved over Kyuhyun. Warmth, enveloping warmth as they wrapped themselves together.

With Zhou Mi gone, though, he cleaned himself, and dressed. Perhaps he could not help with the papers, or anywhere near the Choi house, but there were things he could do.

So he went to Changmin. But before they could do their business, he asked to see Jinyong. The boy was frighteningly small in the guest bed, lying still, almost as though dead if not for the faint rise and fall of his chest. A tiny whimper left him every so often, like a tiny puppy, and Kyuhyun smoothed his fingers over Jinyong’s forehead to soothe him. As Zhou Mi had said, he could tell that Zhou Mi had been there, because the little rabbit that they’d retrieved from Jinyong’s parents was tucked under his arm and beside his face.

“He rests easier than he did at the sanitarium,” Kyuhyun said.

“Yes, sir,” Victoria said. “Easier still than when the sun went down. Mr. Shim bit him not long before you, and it calmed him. He assured me he did not take much.”

Yes. Jinyong calming was good. But Jinyong calming because he was being weakened was not. He’d spoken to Victoria before they had brought her to Jinyong again, to make sure she would be willing to look after the boy again. Having a familiar person with Jinyong would lessen his fear, Kyuhyun hoped. But the second question Kyuhyun had asked, was whether she would be willing to go wherever Jinyong ended up. As little time as there was left in his agreement with Zhou Mi, Kyuhyun did not thing that would be back to his home. It meant that Victoria’s would become Zhou Mi’s servant, because he very much doubted that the boy would be far from Zhou Mi for long. But it would make no sense to install him in Kyuhyun’s home again, only to move him.

“Zhou Mi will be back to see you soon,” Kyuhyun told Jinyong, and smoothed his hair again. “He eats?”

“Yes, broth earlier, and I will get more when he wakes.”

“Good. Thank you. I know Zhou Mi appreciates having someone at his side since he cannot be.”

Kyuhyun left the sickroom much relieved, and looked in on the other human taken from the sanitarium, a man of thirty or so. It was good, that Changmin could feed from both. Kyuhyun wondered if Zhou Mi meant to offer payment to Changmin for it, or if the bargain had been struck already. As Changmin’s friend, as a fellow vampire, that was not deal he would insert himself in.

“The child does well,” Kyuhyun said, sprawling in one of the wide chairs in Changmin’s library.

“He does. How long had he been gone from you?”

“A week, perhaps?”

“He was too thin.”

Kyuhyun blew out a breath. “So they starved him as well. Zhou Mi was told?”

“If he doesn’t know, he will soon. I was surprised he left here. He slept at your home?”

Kyuhyun had been a bit surprised as well. He wasn’t sure if Changmin was surprised, or disappointed that he hadn’t been able to keep Zhou Mi from Kyuhyun.

“He did sleep with me. But since he was here during the day, and you were asleep, he could not have asked permission. I imagine that’s important to him. But he didn’t leave Jinyong here alone, so that undoubtedly gave him comfort. Will you be going to our Miss Choi?”

“Yes. But not tonight. Tomorrow. We’ll discuss if there is help to be had in the future.”

“She stripped almost all control from Zhou Mi last night. If the amount of information hadn’t been so great, she would have tried to lock him out entirely. So be cautious.”

“Lucky for her Zhou Mi is docile.”

Kyuhyun snorted. “More like stubborn. But smart, too. He knows what his strengths are. The men in that place were ready to fight us.”

“You won’t be able to keep him from those situations after,” Changmin told him.

“I won’t know he’s in those situations. How likely is it do you think that they’ll find another storehouse? A den for distributing? Without Zhou Mi there, no one will call on me.”

“If I’m still working with the Chois, I might.”

Kyuhyun stood, laughing half to himself. “Not if you knew Zhou Mi would be there. Good luck with her tomorrow. I have things that need to be done.”

Those did not include going back to his home, and stretching out with a book. He would write more letters for Zhou Mi, and wait for his return.

***

Zhou Mi wondered what about a sick child that was so sad. Possibilities. Joy that was being restrained. Everything in him was horrified to walk into the room Jinyong was staying in for the second time, to see him so small on the bed, so wan and still. He’d been so energetic, so curious, and brave. Everything he would be again, with time.

“How is he?” Zhou Mi asked Victoria.

“Improved. It seemed the nightmares have stopped. He’s quieted.”

That was good. Those mental scars were the ones that might be with Jinyong the longest. But they could be dealt with. With time, love, assurance. All things Zhou Mi intended to give.

“Hi Jinyong,” Zhou Mi said, sitting on the bed, and rubbing Jinyong’s arm. “You know who I am?”

Jinyong stared at him, giving no indication that he did, or that he’d even heard.

That blank stare was petrifying, and Zhou Mi needed to hold. He slid down the covers, Jinyong in his slip of a night garment, until Zhou Mi could cradle him. He was not small enough to be held like an infant, but it was nearly like holding one. A body warm and unresisting.

Zhou Mi could feel in how easy it was to pick Jinyong up, how easily he could feel the ribs in Jinyong’s sides, how frail he’d become.

“Did they even feed him?” he asked Victoria, who shook her head at him.

“I don’t know. I’ve been trying to get as much into him as I can without making him sick.”

Jinyong’s arms did not lift to hold Zhou Mi’s neck as they once might have, nor did he even move to be closer. Zhou Mi just tucked him close with a blanket around him, holding his shivering little body, and petting his hair the way that Jinyong had liked.

“Jinyong. I’m here. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have let them hurt you.”

Zhou Mi didn’t really know what to do. If he were scared, he’d want people who were familiar to him. So all he could do was hold Jinyong, tell him silly stories. And when Jinyong’s whimpers stopped, his body relaxing in sleep, Zhou Mi just held him until he woke. He sang little songs, songs his mother had sang to him, until Victoria brought food for Jinyong to eat. Or rather, for Zhou Mi to feed to him, mashed up food carefully being spooned into his mouth.

“Such a good boy,” Zhou Mi crooned, stroking Jinyong’s cheek with a finger.

Jinyong whimpered at him. A glance at Victoria had him looking back.

“You know who I am?”

Jinyong whimpered again, leaning into Zhou Mi’s hand.

“Oh. Oh, sweet baby. No. Big boy. You’re such a big boy.”

It was proof to him that Jinyong was still in there, somewhere. Weak, but he was in there.

Zhou Mi stayed as long as he dared, watching a clock on the wall so that he had time enough to make it to Kyuhyun’s home so that Kyuhyun could feed. He would stay a while, and return back to Jinyong. Changmin would feed from Jinyong again, and he didn’t know if he could endure watching it again.

“I have to go awhile,” Zhou Mi said, kissing the top of Jinyong’s head. “But I’ll be back. Rest, all right?”

Zhou Mi tucked Jinyong’s rabbit near his face so he could feel it, and turned to leave before he could not force himself.

Victoria stopped him just outside of the door.

“Mr. Zhou. I’m sorry. I hope you don’t mind me speaking so forwardly. I haven’t seen him so peaceful since Mr. Cho came to see him. He doesn’t blame you. He feels safe with you. When he wakes up, I know he’ll be happy to be back with you.”

“Kyuhyun came to see him?”

“Yes. Earlier tonight. He told Jinyong you would be back by him soon. But the people that hurt him, they’re the ones to blame. Not you.”

“Thank you, Victoria,” Zhou Mi told her, truly grateful. “I think I know that somewhere in me, but it’s hard to feel it when he’s so sick like this. Thank you for everything you’re doing for him. It must soothe him to have someone familiar by him. Thank you for staying near him.”

When he reached for her hand, she let him take it, squeezing back.

“Thank you for allowing me to.”

“I wish I could say longer tonight, but there are things I must do. I’ll be back in the daylight hours.”

“I think he’ll be better even then, Mr. Zhou. He grows stronger hour by hour.”

Zhou Mi hoped so. He truly did.

***

Zhou Mi was startled to see Kyuhyun in Changmin’s sitting room when he went down to tell Changmin he was leaving. Kyuhyun was dressed almost in unrelieved black, dirt on his clothes. Kyuhyun was not the most meticulous of dressers, but it put Zhou Mi’s senses on alert.

“How is he?” Kyuhyun asked.

“Better, a little. Eating. Making noises not of fear. What brings you here?”

“You, primarily,” and there was a curve to Kyuhyun’s mouth. “I’ll take you back with me. But mostly we are here to relay news from Sooyoung. We both came back from where they are keeping the men captured in the storehouse.”

“In none too lovely conditions, you’ll be happy to note,” Changmin said. “There were some disturbing things confessed by one of the prisoners.”

“Oh?” Zhou Mi asked.

“Yes,” Kyuhyun said, standing and getting closer to Zhou Mi. “That ‘they know who did it.’ Who was working on fighting the Euphoria project. How did they put it, Changmin?”

“‘The human and the vampire he’s fucking,’” Changmin put it.

“Yes. That. And that they know there was a child, meant to be a warning.”

Jinyong. Zhou Mi shook his head.

“But if not for Jinyong, we never would have found that storehouse.”

Kyuhyun chuckled. “That’s what Sooyoung told him.”

“Did he say anything about other storehouses?”

“Only that it wouldn’t matter if he did, since they would be moved before we could mobilize. But she is getting names from them. We’ll be able to trace them. The unraveling has only begun.”

“Do you think he was telling the truth? That poisoning Jinyong was a warning?” Zhou Mi wondered.

“We can’t be sure, but I don’t know how he’d have known about Jinyong otherwise.”

Zhou Mi blew out a breath. “I don’t like it. Then he could still be in danger here.”

“We can send him to my house in the country,” Changmin said. “We can send him in a day or two. He’ll be well enough to move, and he can recover there without fear of reprisal. Whatever they gave him, it wasn’t much. His body has been fighting itself clean.”

“It’s ironic that my part in this might have both saved his life and harmed him.” But Zhou Mi kept himself from pacing. “Yes. If you think he’s well enough, I think that’s good. We can send Victoria with him, and I can retrieve him when it’s safe. Though will it ever be?”

For Jinyong, if they were to stay together in safety, there was a chance he might have to step back. He imagined handing the child over to someone else, not just temporarily, and the thought froze him. There were things he could do that were not so involved. He could draft letters, contribute monetarily, or help at the sanitarium. There would be no more thrilling outings in the middle of the night, when he had a child’s safety to consider - and his own.

But in the carriage, on the way to Kyuhyun’s home, Kyuhyun spoke to him.

“Those are heavy decisions,” Kyuhyun said from beside him, and Zhou Mi looked at him, confused. “I don’t need to see into your mind to know what you’re thinking. Jinyong’s safety, yours, how you’ll be able to help while considering those things.”

“You knew I’d keep him?”

“Once he came back to you, yes. I don’t know how much you believe in fate, but for you to find him once, and be able to save his life again, that says something.”

“You agree with sending him away?”

“Yes. He can get better, and you can have a chance to organize your life for whatever comes next.”

“If he thinks I’m abandoning him again, I—“

“You’re the adult. He’s a sick little boy, and you’re doing what you think is best.”

“Giving him back to his parents seemed best, too,” Zhou Mi said, and it was bitter even to think of it.

“Don’t hold that against yourself. You couldn’t have known. And he always would have wondered, if you hadn’t.”

“I think sometimes, what if he hadn’t been dosed with Euphoria. What if they had killed him. What if. What if. The questions drive me crazy. He’s so frail. But I couldn’t forgive myself if something happened to him while we are unsure.”

“You’re putting his safety first, so stop with the questions. Will you leave again tonight?”

“No,” ZHou Mi said, and sighed heavily. “Even if you did not need to bite, I have a lot of letters to write. We need to strike on this with our patrons, with the secrets, and—“

Kyuhyun’s fingers covered his lips. “Yes. I understand. I’ll help you tomorrow. I don’t want your hand to be too fatigued.”

Zhou Mi leaned in, laughing against his cheek. “Thoughtful of you.”

“Of course. Tonight you can sleep early, so you can spend as much time with Jinyong tomorrow as possible.”

Before Jinyong would be moved, for his own safety. “Yes. Yes, that’s good. I can send Victoria for any supplies he’ll need.”

“Yes. You’re sending him away for a little while, so you won’t have to be away from him again.”

Zhou Mi kissed Kyuhyun’s neck, felt him hum, and was comforted. Having someone who understood his thoughts so well, someone he could confess his fears to without fear of being mocked. Someone who comforted him by telling him truths, and not fiction. That was everything Kyuhyun was to Zhou Mi then. It made it easy for a moment to shed his worries and fears, to touch Kyuhyun’s face and kiss him. Just the simple touch helped him.

So did the bite. Resting under Kyuhyun in Kyuhyun’s bed, listening to the sounds he made as he fed, made him feel so much at ease.

How ironic. Kyuhyun was taking a bit of his life away, and Zhou Mi felt like he was being given something. And he was. A man with solid bones. Every bit of him a man, down to the hairs on his chest as Zhou Mi rested his face there as Kyuhyun cupped his jaw with a hand and held him.

It had not been part of their agreement, the touch, or the talking. But as Zhou Mi listened to Kyuhyun breathe, listened to his heart slow, he wondered if it had been one of the most important things.

***

When Kyuhyun woke alone two nights in a row, he was not surprised. Zhou Mi would be with Jinyong, as another night of Changmin’s feeding had cleared Jinyong’s blood, making him free to travel. He knew the carriage bearing Jinyong and Victoria from the city would be stopping at Kyuhyun’s home to let Zhou Mi off. He wasn’t sure if he would need to keep Zhou Mi from running after the carriage, but he didn’t believe so. Zhou Mi had made his decision, a wise one, and all there was left was to see it through. Kyuhyun would help Zhou Mi to that end as long as he could.

Though the time for which he would be doing so beside Zhou Mi grew shorter.

Zhou Mi was sending Jinyong for a little while. They would part, and then be reunited. The same could not be said for when his agreement with Zhou Mi ended. There would be no temporary parting. It would end, and they would move on, trying to see as little of each other as possible. It was not a small city, and they had not had opportunity to cross paths before Zhou Mi had sought him out. So the same would be true after.

Kyuhyun stayed seated at the knock on the door, and as as Changmin entered the room. He was in his riding clothes, so how he had arrived was not in question.

“What do you need?” Kyuhyun asked, as Changmin came to stand in front of the desk.

“To see how you are. The carriage with Jinyong and Zhou Mi is not far behind me.”

“I’m fine. Why the sudden concern?”

“Only that I might have accompanied the boy to the country, had I not known your time was growing short with Zhou Mi.”

Kyuhyun frowned up at Changmin. He wasn’t sure if he should be touched or insulted. “Do you think I won’t be able to send him away on my own?”

“I don’t know. Will you?”

“Thirty days is so short, there should be no problem,” Kyuhyun said, leaning back into his chair. If Changmin was needling him, he could needle back. “Though, there was one day I didn’t feed—“

“He can’t stay, Kyuhyun. Stop making excuses.”

“I’m not,” he said, and chuckled. “I’m simply trying to make sure I get my full end of the bargain.”

“I’d say you got far more than you needed,” Changmin said, his voice grim. “Do you think I don’t see…?”

“I know what you must imagine,” Kyuhyun shot back.

“Bite him twice tonight, put him in a carriage, and call yourself even at the end of this agreement. The more you let him stay, the more—”

“My bed will feel cold if he stays one night or a hundred nights. I think I hear the carriage.”

“Kyuhyun—“

“Do you trust me?” Kyuhyun broke in.

He’d dealt with Changmin’s warnings, his interruptions, his meddling, for nearly the entire month. At some point, Changmin would try to make him so angry that he would do as Changmin asked. It wasn’t as though he was lying to Changmin. To Zhou Mi. But his bed would be cold whether Zhou Mi slept in it the rest of the week or not. And he saw no reason to do without.

“I trust you,” Changmin said, and he put his hand on Kyuhyun’s shoulder as Kyuhyun stepped up beside him. There was more to that, Kyuhyun knew.

“Kyuhyun. If it was what you truly wanted, I’d support you. You know that, right?”

“I know. But you don’t think it’s wise.”

Changmin shook his head. “It is not me that would make that choice. You would have to be sure. That’s why I push you so hard. If you push back, perhaps you will be able to make yourself sure. He doesn’t know?”

Kyuhyun tried to imagine telling Zhou Mi of the biggest secret a vampire could have. It was as though he’d swallowed ice, wrapped in something he couldn’t put to name. Longing, maybe.

“I’ve told him nothing. Let’s go.”

He was not truly angry, but he knew Changmin’s concern was true. There were times he wondered. But that night was not the night to consider those things.

***

There was nothing more heartbreaking than the tears of a child. Even after spending the whole of the second day with Jinyong, climbing down out of the carriage after having spent the whole ride with Jinyong in his arms, he was breaking inside as he sat Jinyong back into the seat on his own and stepped down onto the sidewalk. Kyuhyun and Changmin had been waiting for them, but his focus was on Jinyong.

“Don’t send me away,” Jinyong begged, his body weak and eyes hollow as Victoria soothed Jinyong from the side. “Don’t make me go back there.”

Jinyong squirmed, too ill to do much, and Zhou Mi leaned in to catch him and press him back. There was nothing more that Changmin could do for him in biting him. The Euphoria was gone from him, and all there was left was for him to heal.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry you can’t stay with me right now, but I’m not sending you away forever.”

“Zhou Mi, please! I don’t want to go to my parents. I want to stay with you.”

“No. You won’t ever have to see your parents again,” Zhou Mi promised. “You’ll be with your nanny, and I’ll come for you when it’s safe. When it’s safe, you can stay with me. You won’t ever have to leave. I promise you. I need you to be brave just a little while longer. Okay?”

He wiped a tear from Jinyong’s cheek, took in his shadowed eyes and felt his heart breaking.

“Okay,” Jinyong croaked.

There was a touch to Zhou Mi’s side and he startled, only to see Kyuhyun squeezing up beside him.

“You can believe him,” Kyuhyun said, his voice low and soft as he touched Jinyong’s hair. But Zhou Mi could see, very careful not to touch Jinyong’s skin to create the thrall. “He’ll miss you every moment. But you’ll be happier for a little while where you can run around in the sun.”

Jinyong nodded, miserable.

“Do you have a toy, maybe a little stuffed dog, or a bear…? Oh, he’s handsome,” Kyuhyun said, as Victoria handed Jinyong a little bear from his bag. “Your favorite is the bunny, right?”

Jinyong nodded again. “Yes.”

“Whenever you miss Zhou Mi or are scared, you should hug your bunny and think of him. Maybe… Maybe you can leave this bear with Zhou Mi. That way he has something to hug when he’s missing you. And then you know, no matter what, he has to come to get you so he can bring your bear back to you.”

It was hard to say the emotions running through him as he met Jinyong’s eyes and saw his trembling chin. And with both hands, Zhou Mi accepted the offered bear.

“Just for a while, until it’s safe,” Zhou Mi said. “I’ll protect him for you. Look after your nanny, too, yes?”

“Okay.”

Kyuhyun reached through again, and handed Jinyong something wrapped in cloth. “A cookie, for your trip.”

Jinyong smiled, a tiny curling of lips. And he could hear Kyuhyun’s sharp inhale. And Kyuhyun stepped back, pushing Zhou Mi forward to say goodbye. All he could do was hug Jinyong and cuddle his fragile body.

“I love you. I’ll send letters, and we’ll be together as soon as we can. I promise.”

Jinyong whimpered and nodded against Zhou Mi’s head.

And it was slow, pulling back and squeezing Jinyong’s hand, and showing him he was still holding the bear that Jinyong had given him. He stepped back, beyond the range of the carriage wheels, untying his horse from the back. He could only watch as Victoria took her place beside Jinyong to soothe him as silent tears ran down his face. It was only blissful luck that kept Zhou Mi from doing the same, and Kyuhyun’s hand tight on his shoulder.

“See you soon,” he called as the carriage began to move. “Be good, Jinyong!”

His voice cracked on the end of Jinyong’s name, and he waved, until the carriage had turned the corner and was out of sight. And all he had was a little stuffed bear, and hope that he was doing the right thing.

“He’ll be safe. She’ll look after him well,” Kyuhyun said.

Yes, that was true. He knew that beyond a doubt. 

“They’ll rest overnight in an inn tomorrow,” Changmin said, “and make it to my estate the day after.”

“Thank you,” Zhou Mi interrupted him. “For all you did for him. For me. For everyone involved.”

“It was—“

Changmin was as stiff as a board, as Zhou Mi wrapped his arms around him. It was not a long hug, mere moments in reality, but it had been necessary.

Changmin cleared his throat, straightening his jacket. “I should go, then.”

“Not going to stay and harass us tonight?” Kyuhyun teased.

“I have better things to do,” Changmin retorted. “You know my reservations. I’ll check in with you again tomorrow.”

Changmin merely waved, as he made for his horse.

“He got a hug,” Kyuhyun said, making suspicious eyes at Zhou Mi.

“Yes. You get more than that,” Zhou Mi said.

Though of course, by Kyuhyun’s squeak, he hadn’t expected Zhou Mi to enfold him right there.

“We’re on the street.”

“Mmhmm,” Zhou Mi murmured, nuzzling into Kyuhyun’s neck and finding himself steady. “You.”

“Me?”

Kyuhyun had given Jinyong a cookie. He’d suggested Jinyong give Zhou Mi the bear, so there would be a connection, one that Jinyong would remember.

“You are wonderful.”

“I knew that,” Kyuhyun joked, but the sound of it was weak. Kyuhyun’s arms tightened around him, and he could never have let go. Just to bask in Kyuhyun’s scent and the feel of Kyuhyun solid against him, holding him. If only for the cold, that was. It was making him begin to shiver, and he knew it had to be seeping into Kyuhyun as well.

“Let’s go warm ourselves by the fire,” Kyuhyun suggested.

And then in each other. It would not take away the pain, but he would know he was not alone. There was work to do, and there was not much time to be borrowed.

***

After hours of letter writing, and Kyuhyun pouring himself into Zhou Mi’s lap until he laughed, Zhou Mi had relaxed after Jinyong had been sent away. But it had still taken a day of much laboring it seemed, until Zhou Mi had truly put it from his mind. There had been a letter written and sent to Jinyong the very moment it could be posted, that Kyuhyun knew. But it felt nice to see Zhou Mi coming into his house with a smile that touched his whole face.

“Surely you didn’t get a letter back already,” Kyuhyun said, leaning back in his chair.

“No. But they did send a messenger that they had reached the inn they will stay at for a day.”

“That’s good.”

“It is. Jinyong should not be pushed too hard, as weak as he was.”

“At least he was able to talk before he left. I imagine you would have been much more worried had he not been able to.”

“Absolutely. I think that’s the amazing thing about children. Being able to heal so quickly.”

“Perhaps it was luck that they didn’t want to waste much product on him. But he’s out of their reach now.”

Zhou Mi hummed his agreement, and Kyuhyun glanced up to watch him every so often as Zhou Mi sipped his tea and wrote letter after letter. He could see that Zhou Mi grew tired, the stiff set of his shoulders, the way he flexed his fingers as he thought. Kyuhyun signed his name to the last of his own notes, and stood. The dawn was not much more than an hour away and he meant to feed well.

“Are you nearly done?” Kyuhyun asked.

“There are always more,” Zhou Mi said. “But yes. I could be done for now.”

“Good. I promised you that I would not let your hand get too tired.”

Zhou Mi’s eyebrows rose, and then his eyes closed as Kyuhyun took his hand, massaging his palm, the soft flesh and muscles between there and his thumb. Fascinating hands. Long fingers with defined knuckles. He wondered if he would taste ink and glue if he slid them into his mouth, lips sliding over every plane and hill. Hands that touched, gentle and firm, palms that cupped. He watched Zhou Mi bask the pleasure of the rubbing of their hands together, until Zhou Mi’s eyes drifted back open.

“Where were you between every letter,” Zhou Mi teased.

“Not far,” Kyuhyun said, and did not move away as Zhou Mi stood.

“Are your lips tired too?” Kyuhyun asked, as he watched Zhou Mi poke his out, asking for something.

The smile was visible, all over Zhou Mi’s face as Kyuhyun kissed him. It was unlike a hundred other kisses, and like a hundred more as Zhou Mi gripped his waist and leaned into him. His hands left Zhou Mi’s, sliding onto his neck instead so he could kiss the bitter tea from Zhou Mi’s lips.

There was no need to coddle or convince. If Zhou Mi could not feel Kyuhyun’s need, he was not conveying himself well. And he moaned his appreciation as ZHou Mi’ mouth nudged against his, sucking at his lower lip and urging him into the kiss.

How many nights more they had, he could not lie and say he did not know. They had two, and he intended to use them without sentiment, without drawing whatever emotion Zhou Mi might feel at the end of their agreement. If it was regret or relief, it had no part between them that night.

“The bed,” Kyuhyun suggested, lips catching against Zhou Mi’s.

And Zhou Mi agreed.

So Kyuhyun took his hand, keeping him close like a leash as they climbed the stairs to Kyuhyun’s room. He stood, enjoyed, as Zhou Mi undid the buttons down his chest, and then as he did the same for Zhou Mi. Inch by inch of skin, bared for him, warm and smooth under his hands as he shed his clothes and urged Zhou Mi’s off as well. He confessed it took him a moment to fully admire Zhou Mi’s thighs, as his trousers slid down, but that was because there was so much else to admire in between.

“Something you like?”

“Many things,” Kyuhyun replied. And he stopped Zhou Mi, when he would have reached to help Kyuhyun with his own trousers. “Onto the bed with you. There’s something I…want.”

Zhou Mi’s eyebrows rose in curiosity, but he nodded, backed away. The light was not at its brightest, but Kyuhyun could see. It made Kyuhyun glad that Zhou Mi was comfortable in his own skin. He stretched back of his own accord, not trying to hide any part of himself from Kyuhyun’s view.

“And?” Zhou Mi asked.

“I would watch you bring yourself pleasure,” Kyuhyun said, slipping onto the bed on the other side, just far enough to see but not to touch. “I suggested you do that once, and you refused me.”

“You were mocking me. And I did not trust you then,” Zhou Mi told him.

No, that was truth. And yet still, Zhou Mi seemed intrigued.

“You do know how it’s done, do you not?”

Zhou Mi chuckled, fingers sliding over his own hip. “As though you have not come in my hands.”

“It will be enjoyment in two ways. I get the pleasure of watching you pleasure yourself, and you get to experience…something new. Since I cannot induce you into coming.”

“It’s possible.” And when Kyuhyun scoffed, Zhou Mi shook his head. “I find your voice very…arousing.”

There was that, then. He supposed they had that in common, among other things as he watched the flexing of Zhou Mi’s knuckles as his hand squeezed around his erection, making himself harder. It made his own body pulse, but ignored it. His whole focus had to be on Zhou Mi.

“Your body is very…” And Kyuhyun could not find the word he wanted. Arousing seemed too obvious. Words that described physical perfection, somehow trite.

“If it is that hard to find a compliment,” Zhou Mi breathed. Again, teasing with his words, though his eyes were warm, sensual.

“Only too many words came to mind.”

“I will not argue if you name them. They used to call me spare, to tease that I would break apart in a harsh wind.”

That could not have been true. He had not known Zhou Mi in those years, but the man in front of him was built solid from the soles of his feet to the hair that swathed over his forehead. He was spare in spots, but breakable in no way. Kyuhyun had gripped his wrists, bitten his neck, squeezed Zhou Mi’s hips between his thighs. And his lips had been every place else, knees and cock and shoulders.

“Arousing,” Kyuhyun said, and watched Zhou Mi’s hand falter. “Beautiful. Masculine. Delicious.”

He tried to keep his face straight, but they both laughed at that, if only on exhales and eyes roaming faces, bodies. It was a baring thing to do, to touch oneself in front of another. Kyuhyun thought back to their second time in his bed and had no doubts why Zhou Mi had refused him that, or thought him vulgar and rude. But he had not seen Zhou Mi then, not truly. He’d seen a body he wanted terribly, a challenge in the lack of thrall, and little else.

He saw in Zhou Mi then so much more.

“Have you been with more than one person at once?” Kyuhyun asked, resting his chin on his knee and running his eyes up and down Zhou Mi’s torso.

“No,” Zhou Mi said. “Only one at a time.”

“Would you like it? Two men to worship you. One to take you and stroke you. One for you to suck. Not using you, but enhancing your pleasure. You like to suck, don’t you?”

“I do.” 

Zhou Mi’s eyes closed, and Kyuhyun would have none of it.

“No, keep your eyes on me.”

Zhou Mi looked to him immediately. No matter what he described, he did not want Zhou Mi’s thoughts driving to another. He was the one there with Zhou Mi, and he was the one in Zhou Mi’s mind to arouse him. He was the one Zhou Mi was hard for, his hand slick and stroking as he stared at Kyuhyun. He wanted to be Zhou Mi’s pleasure.

“You want to see me with other men?”

“Why would I?” Kyuhyun asked. “If a human I am with wants another human, they are free to take them. But they wouldn’t be in my bed any longer.”

He could see Zhou Mi was trying to keep his breathing even, brain stretching as he tried to follow Kyuhyun’s words. “So are you trying to see if I want someone else? Someone from the Organization? My friends?”

“A man you pass on the street. It doesn’t matter.”

“What if you were that man?” Zhou Mi murmured. “Hat on your head, light of the gas lamps shooting you shadow out and making you taller. Ow.”

Kyuhyun took back his hand from where he’d smacked Zhou Mi’s knee.

“I can have everything you describe,” Zhou Mi told him. “But I only need one man to do it. We’ve done it before. Your mouth on me, fingers in me, as I—“

“I see your point,” Kyuhyun said. And tried to calm himself, before he made that thought become reality. Zhou Mi’s mouth was warm. Very warm, and he could see himself emptying into it without any trouble at all.

“What would you like me to do for you after?” Zhou Mi asked, his breathing becoming labored. “Or will I get to watch, too?”

“If you watch, you won’t be watching long,” Kyuhyun admitted. As hard as he was, as much as his body was pulsing, he wondered if he would even need touch. And Zhou Mi was being so deliberately provocative, adjusting his hips, his arm as his strokes got faster.

Kyuhyun wasn’t sure where to look the concentration on Zhou Mi’s face, or the movement of his hand that had Zhou Mi dripping onto his own stomach.

“Feels good, doesn’t it,” he said, keeping his voice low.

“Better if you were doing it.”

Kyuhyun thought the same. Zhou Mi’s hand on him, his on Zhou Mi, and there would be no barriers to stop him. As it was his hand was squeezing on his thigh to keep from touching himself.

“Your body feels warm to me when mine is cold. Hot, hard in my hand. Better if I’m inside you, because I can see you gasping every time I slide in, getting tighter as you get closer. Your fingers keep digging into my back, or my shoulders, and you let out little breaths… Yeah, like that.”

The shuddering little breaths as Zhou Mi began to race himself, the feelings that were rising and his own strokes, and Kyuhyun’s words. All he could do was keep his eyes on Zhou Mi’s, and keep talking.

“Are you going to come for me, empty yourself? Imagine me sucking you clean, licking your stomach and chest. Then I’ll get it dirty again. The taste of you will almost be enough to make me come. I’m so hard already, just waiting to see you—“

With a soft grunt, Zhou Mi’s eyes went wide and unfocused as his body jerked. And Kyuhyun saw what he’d been waiting to, semen in lines and droplets, bright against Zhou Mi’s skin as Zhou Mi panted and eased his body’s furor.

Kyuhyun did as he promised, nudging down Zhou Mi’s frozen hand and tasting his cock, sucking it nearly clean. He wasn’t attempting perfection, just giving Zhou Mi exactly what he had said. His tongue took a wet, generous journey up Zhou Mi’s stomach, and the taste did have his body begging. Messy kisses up Zhou Mi’s chest, doing more to spread than to clean, as he hissed and swung his leg over Zhou Mi’s body. 

Zhou Mi’s breath was sowing as he watched Kyuhyun open his trousers, and the first friction of skin against skin had Kyuhyun gulping, swallowing hard as he tried not to lose control just from that. It was a different view, but also a different feeling as Zhou Mi gripped both his thighs.

“Show me,” Zhou Mi urged.

With his hand braced on the bed, he did. He’d promised it wouldn’t last long. He could have drawn it out, spent long minutes torturing himself right on the edge of release. But Zhou Mi had found his, and wanted to see him gain his own.

And then Zhou Mi’s tongue snaked out to wet his lips, so deliberately that Kyuhyun’s eyes darted up, glaring with his brows drawn. Zhou Mi laughed, so smug and effortlessly gorgeous. Teeth bared, Zhou Mi was satisfied but still hungry. Just by the weight of Zhou Mi’s stare as he watched Kyuhyun, took in his body. Perhaps he was exactly what Zhou Mi wanted. Not just a man, but a man like him - a man Zhou Mi was touching, squeezing Kyuhyun’s thighs.

He closed his eyes, ready to give in, and gasped at the hand on his face.

“No,” Zhou Mi told him. “Look at me.”

He would come thinking only of Zhou Mi, just as Kyuhyun had demanded.

“Zhou Mi.”

Until he’d said it, he hadn’t even realized he had, watching with helpless breaths as Zhou Mi pushed himself up until he could cup the back of Kyuhyun’s head and bring him close.

“Show me,” Zhou Mi repeated. “Show me, Kyuhyun.”

As close as their faces were, it wasn’t to watch, some voyeuristic thrill as Kyuhyun had gotten. It was to see in Kyuhyun’s face every feeling, every nuance.

So he did, and lost control. But even in the glee of release, he felt Zhou Mi’s nose press beside his, his breath puffing against Zhou Mi’s mouth. But his body relaxed, still singing with pleasure, and he nudged against Zhou Mi’s face.

“Watching me caused that, huh?” Zhou Mi teased, his thumb rubbing behind Kyuhyun’s ear.

“Watching you could cause far more than that.”

They laughed against each other, trading kisses as they slowly collapsed back onto the bed.

“We should clean you up,” Kyuhyun murmured.

“Take off your trousers, and those will work.”

He drilled his finger into Zhou Mi’s side for daring to sacrifice his clothes for Zhou Mi’s cleanliness. But it was between that and finding another cloth, so Zhou Mi had the best idea after all.

But it took rolling onto his back and a struggle between his legs and Zhou Mi’s to finally wrest the offending cloth off, and then to make a passable swipe over his skin and Zhou Mi’s.

But he hadn’t fed yet, and Zhou Mi hadn’t forgotten, one long ridiculous arm snaking around his shoulders as Zhou Mi turned to him.

“The sun?”

“On its way. But there’s time.”

There was always time to feed. He had visions of Zhou Mi’s waggling brows as he pressed his lips to Zhou Mi’s neck. Zhou Mi was wrapped around him so thoroughly, as he bit, such a warm cocoon of man and cloth.

“I’ve never put myself on display like that before,” Zhou Mi said, his breath ruffling Kyuhyun’s hair.

How secure he must have been, to speak with Kyuhyun’s teeth in him. Kyuhyun hummed in response, kneading Zhou Mi’s shoulder.

“I liked it. I think someone else would have made me feel uncomfortable. Too embarrassed. Though I like it more with you against me. Tomorrow.”

Kyuhyun released Zhou Mi’s neck, kissing the cleaned wounds he’d made. He was sated, full.

“Yes, tomorrow,” Kyuhyun agreed. “Any requests?”

Zhou Mi just shook his head, and Kyuhyun rested his face against Zhou Mi’s neck. That throat. Kyuhyun’s neck. His. The sun rose, but he was already asleep.

***

In how many ways could two men fit together, Kyuhyun wondered. Day after day. He nudged his hips up against Zhou Mi’s, holding him from behind as they undressed one day. Another, Zhou Mi fell asleep breathing against the back of his neck. They were careful, so careful not to mention the time that was slipping from their fingers. Sleep was wasted time together. He’d rolled Zhou Mi over once, half asleep from coming in Kyuhyun’s mouth, only to be sucked hard, to fuck one more time. It was like an illness, trying to get his fill before he went without.

But time would not stop, even for him. He had lived Zhou Mi’s lifetime, several times over, and still he was not satisfied with what he’d had. Changmin could admonish him until he breathed in all the air in the city, but it did not diminish his want. He would have fed until he was sick, breathing at Zhou Mi’s neck. If Zhou Mi had allowed it, they would not have left his bed - he would have kept Zhou Mi aroused and needy - or in bliss from it - from the moment he woke, until the sun rose. But Zhou Mi wasn’t his to command, no matter how much time was left for them. It had always been understood that the fight against Euphoria came first, that the feeding would not interfere. And it was only one night that last week that Zhou Mi had to apologize for cutting their time short.

When Zhou Mi was with him to feed, in his bed, or against him in the library, he knew Zhou Mi thought of him only. He got to forget, for a little while. To relax. When Kyuhyun kissed smiles onto Zhou Mi’s face, and Zhou Mi’s arms slid around him. He hinted that time was short, day by day, so that it was not a surprise to either of them. Perhaps saying it aloud would make it real. But the days still passed.

Changmin, instead of showing up himself, sent a note.

It read only “Do what you must.”

Kyuhyun knew what Changmin meant.

Like the last lingering days of summer that passed into the cold, he could not stop time or extend their agreement. And he knew that he wanted time enough that last night to do anything, everything they wanted.

So he stood and Zhou Mii’s head rose. “You know what tonight is?”

“The finale of our agreement?” Zhou Mi said, and Kyuhyun nodded.

He did not have to ask if Zhou Mi was finished, or ready to go upstairs with him. Zhou Mi stood, waited for Kyuhyun to join him with a smile touching his lips, so they could walk up the stairs together. It did not feel like he was walking to his death, like his steps were heavy. But his mind was racing. What they should do, or how. How to make it a memorable night, how to make it so that Zhou Mi would never forget it even to the day he drew his last breath.

But that seemed silly. There was nothing he could do to make that happen. He had no secret, superhuman powers of sex, and no ability to enhance Zhou Mi’s pleasure. If he’d had, they would have been doing that every night and not just the last. Making it too large in his mind might instead make it worse for them.

They’d had a month to learn each other, and he knew what Zhou Mi liked. That would need to be enough.

“The time went so fast,” Zhou Mi said.

“There were a lot of things keeping time occupied.”

Letters, and trips, and children, and the poor souls that were Euphoria’s victims. The month had not been some gift of debauchery, but it had gained them both something. Zhou Mi and his Organization had made progress, and Kyuhyun had gained a great deal of other things.

In the privacy of his room, beside his bed, he gained Zhou Mi’s mouth against his. After he turned on the light at his bedside, he’d had only to turn with Zhou Mi’s arm snaking around his back and drawing him close to kiss him. When they stood like that, he felt all of Zhou Mi’s height. The way his head fell back ever so slightly, so to meet Zhou Mi’s mouth more firmly. He had no need to gain the upper hand, concerned only that he got all the kisses he was deserving of, stroking from the soft hair at Zhou Mi’s nape, to the strength of his neck.

He had not wondered if they would talk. The time for conversation had long passed. He wanted only to feel, to write into his memory something greater than himself. They worked in unison, tugging at buttons and sleeves, and the cloth at Zhou Mi’s neck. He shivered a bit, as Zhou Mi’s fingers skimmed his chest. His shirt slid down his arms at Zhou Mi’s insistence, and Kyuhyun kissed Zhou Mi’s collarbone. Zhou Mi was perfect in every way. Maybe too sharp at the knee, he conceded. But it was of no consequence.

He loved the texture of Zhou Mi’s skin. It was soft as his fingers dragged over it, but what it covered was the body of a man. His ribs, his chest under Kyuhyun’s fingertips, shivering at Kyuhyun’s touches. He did not mean to tickle and tease, only to map and remember. Straining muscle and bone, the fragrance of his hair when Kyuhyun inhaled above his ear.

Kyuhyun lifted Zhou Mi’s hand, licked along the lines crossing his palm, teasing kisses as Zhou Mi’s fingertips skimmed his cheek. The tang of salt on skin had him humming as he nibbled the soft flesh between Zhou Mi’s thumb and forefinger.

Zhou Mi did not wait for Kyuhyun to draw him in, but pressed his mouth to Kyuhyun’s first. The soft rub of lips, it was plea and order both. To kiss him as he wanted to be kissed, for Kyuhyun to meet him, taste him, allow his tongue to do unspeakable things that set his body aflame.

And yet still, he needed some assurance.

“Tonight’s our—“

“I know,” Zhou Mi said.

“We can’t—“

“I know.”

“Please don’t leave before I wake up. We should… Make it official.”

Zhou Mi nodded. “If I do have to leave, I’ll return before you wake.”

It was as good a compromise as any.

And so Zhou Mi pushed him back, first kneeling on the bed beside Kyuhyun, and then over him. It was like any other night, only there was some kind of desperation rioting in his skin.

“Let me,” Zhou Mi suggested, and Kyuhyun cupped Zhou Mi’s face, kissed him in agreement. There was nothing Zhou Mi could do that he would not like, not enjoy, until it was pain to Zhou Mi. But there was no pain in lying there, feeling Zhou Mi’s long, nimble fingers stroking him hard with the slick oil. It put Zhou Mi mostly out of reach, mostly in shadow. Zhou Mi’s face was so hard to read as he pleasured them both, but Kyuhyun traced his features anyway. His eyebrows were drawn, lips parted, and as Zhou Mi’s hand stilled on Kyuhyun, he realized why. Zhou Mi was making himself slick, so he would be ready for Kyuhyun to take. There was no list of things in Kyuhyun’s head that he found arousing, but watching Zhou Mi right then was making one. A man, aroused and ready.

He thought that was the extent of it, that he would find himself distracted by pressing Zhou Mi down and kissing him, fucking him.

But Zhou Mi smiled at him, almost as though he could read Kyuhyun’s thoughts, and maybe he could in the way Kyuhyun had tensed and reached for him. But that wasn’t what happened. Zhou Mi did not invite him as he had before, a grin on his lips and promise in the lines of his body. Instead, he lifted, waited, until Kyuhyun realized what Zhou Mi meant - that he would not press Zhou Mi onto his back, no, but Zhou Mi would stay above him. Had he not been hard, the prospect of watching Zhou Mi use his body to fuck himself would have had him becoming so. All he could do was stay still, to watch as Zhou Mi adjusted them both, until they began to fit as they knew they would.

He moaned, reaching for Zhou Mi’s hips as Zhou Mi took him, took all of him. He could do little but hold his hips still, let Zhou Mi control how much he took, how fast.

“You always wanted that control, didn’t you?”

Zhou Mi smirked at him, leaning forward and making Kyuhyun gasp.

It was their last night together, to bite, to fuck. It seemed fitting that Zhou Mi control everything. Movement. His pleasure.

It was different than watching Zhou Mi from a distance. He had movement above him, around him. Zhou Mi’s chest, and his determined expression, as though the sex was some kind of task he was trying to accomplish well.

“It is not a race,” Kyuhyun reminded him. “I won’t give you a grade after.”

Zhou Mi laughed, the sound breathy. “I am not racing any clock, but the strength of my legs. You would weary me.”

“I should have raced you up the stairs.”

“This is more pleasing.”

Kyuhyun could not argue with that. The rock of Zhou Mi’s body, lifting, sinking onto Kyuhyun again and again. He began to wonder if his body would be the one to give out before Zhou Mi’s strength did.

“We should have done this before,” Kyuhyun teased, pretending as though he were relaxing, and getting a smack to his chest.

As though he was not helping, hips lifting with every fall Zhou Mi took. Just that extra friction had him hissing, arching as Zhou Mi teased his chest with evil fingers. Circles and lines drawn into his skin, they ironically did not take his focus away from Zhou Mi, his rising desperation, but instead raised it.

And Zhou Mi knew, from the smug curve the corners of his mouth were taking as he panted and continued driving Kyuhyun to the edge of reason. Zhou Mi looked elegant and so right on the back of a horse, but it was not elegance he saw there. Determination. Desire. He tried to tell time by the beating of his heart, and could not because it raced ahead of him just watching the way Zhou Mi flung his hair from his eyes, his head tilting back or to the side as he labored to bring them both pleasure.

And when Kyuhyun thought he was nearly done, Zhou Mi lifted up onto his knees, leaving him unsatisfied, and reaching.

“What are you doing?”

“Legs are too tired,” Zhou Mi said, arranging himself on his back beside Kyuhyun. “And I want you above me.”

He did not need to be told twice, using that momentary terror to drive himself, slipping between Zhou Mi’s spread legs and pressing again into his body.

Maybe Zhou Mi knew more than he realized as he looked up at Kyuhyun and lifted his hips to greet him. It was the way they had done it first. And last.

That first time he’d been so full of nerves. He’d hoped he could satisfy Zhou Mi without the thrall, to not horrify him at the thought of being bitten or going willingly into a man’s bed. It hadn’t been talent, or luck that had accomplished those things, but a combination of Zhou Mi’s courage and need from them both. Inspiring need in a man was one thing. Making him need beyond all the other areas of worry was something else.

Using Zhou Mi’s body to his own end was different than using his hand, because there was a man racing him for breaths, for touch. Begging him without words for Kyuhyun to go faster because of Zhou Mi’s own desire.

And there was so much that couldn’t be explained in Zhou Mi’s disordered hair, wild from Kyuhyun’s fingers, and the way he met Kyuhyun’s eyes with a sweaty face and kiss-dark lips. And somehow, Zhou Mi knew, baring his throat. Not in submission, but in offer.

“Kyuhyun,” Zhou Mi breathed as Kyuhyun bit him.

It was the last blood he would take, and he drank so slowly. Zhou Mi’s fingers holding his head, holding him close. The fingers massaging his scalp had his eyes closing as he focused on the taste, the heat of Zhou Mi, of Zhou Mi’s blood. It tasted pure, and Kyuhyun wondered if he could taste the difference in a human who was in thrall or not. In the month they had had, Kyuhyun had nearly forgotten how Zhou Mi’s blood differed from any other.

He would get to find out soon enough. The thought almost made him choke, and Zhou Mi steadied him, murmuring things Kyuhyun couldn’t understand.

But at his last swallow, drawing his teeth back and wanting another bite, he wanted Zhou Mi’s mouth. To kiss him, share with him. And Zhou Mi did not shy from his kiss.

They had shared the taste of each other’s come, of food that Kyuhyun couldn’t eat. But never blood, not like that. He waited to see if Zhou Mi would pull away, once he realized, but he only wrapped his arm around Kyuhyun tighter, kissing him until the only thing he could taste was Zhou Mi.

And as Kyuhyun stroked him, he wrote Zhou Mi’s moans into his memory, the tightening of his face as he came, the sound of his name in panting breaths.

And muffling his words in Zhou Mi’s shoulder, he let himself go. It was not the height of sexual pleasure, but tinged with regret. It rolled over and through him, almost like pain, until his body had nothing more to give. And there was nothing left to take. But he waited, until he had gathered himself, until the pleasure had settled and become part of him.

“Don’t,” Zhou Mi protested, when Kyuhyun would have moved off of him.

“I think you like to breathe,” Kyuhyun suggested, getting a gusty chuckle that spurred his own.

“Not far,” Zhou Mi clarified.

“With me, then.”

With him. They rolled onto their sides, turning out the light and adjusting blankets and limbs until they were closed in and comfortable and close.

“You get better at that every time,” Kyuhyun said, voice light and teasing.

Zhou Mi answered in kind. “I was going to say the same.”

But there was no humor in Zhou Mi’s kiss. There in the dark, there was nothing else, his hand curling over Zhou Mi’s neck. Nothing but warmth, and savoring Zhou Mi’s lips against his until they were barely moving, just their lips meeting, adjusting, and meeting again.

He could feel the sun and tried to will it back back, fingers stroking Zhou Mi’s neck.

“The sun?” Zhou Mi asked, and Kyuhyun felt it as much as heard it.

“Yes.”

“Sleep then,” Zhou Mi told him, and pressed a harder kiss to his mouth, one that was meant to send him into oblivion.

“Zhou Mi,” he murmured.

There were things he wanted to say. But in the warmth, and in the rising sun, and Zhou Mi’s arm around him, he could not form words. Surely just one more night. Another week. A year. It would be enough then. Eventually, it would have to be enough.

Zhou Mi’s fingers stroked his hair. “Sleep.”

It wasn’t enough yet. He was unsure he should end it. Unsure he could keep it - keep the man longer, and let him go even as he reached for Zhou Mi’s hand. Instead he whispered Zhou Mi’s name one more time, got one last kiss.

“Thank you,” he thought he heard Zhou Mi whisper as he slipped into the bliss of sleep.

He wondered, for what.

***

Zhou Mi did not wait to be seen into the library, but went himself. It was too early for Kyuhyun to be down, but it was also too late for Zhou Mi to contemplate going up the stairs. Kyuhyun had asked him to be there when he woke, but Zhou Mi wasn’t certain if that was in his bed, or in his home. It had been quite a long time since Zhou Mi had felt awkward waking in Kyuhyun’s bed, whether Kyuhyun was still deeply asleep or waking beside him. But on that day, their last day - no, their parting day - he did not know if he could have stayed in that bed to see Kyuhyun wake. Another day, they would have kissed, touched. Kyuhyun was equally as needy when he woke and they had had all the time allotted to them. Though it didn’t keep him from wondering what would have happened, if he had been in Kyuhyun’s bed. Perhaps Kyuhyun would have woken reaching for him and there would have been some sort of comfort in the waking instead of uncertainty.

He had kept little at Kyuhyun’s home, and most of it had left with him already. His letterheads, his preferred pen. There were no clothes in Kyuhyun’s bedroom because he had taken them when he had left earlier that day. He had not wanted to leave things behind, to make it look as though he were creating an excuse to return.

The truth was he didn’t know if he would need an excuse, if the biting ceased, he assumed the sex would as well. But he didn’t know for certain. He knew what he wanted. He enjoyed Kyuhyun’s company as much as he enjoyed his body. Gaining his help had been Zhou Mi’s first priority, but that hadn’t been where things between them had stopped.

The desk Zhou Mi had used was still sitting in front of Kyuhyun’s desk. He wondered where it would move back to. Kyuhyun’s library at least would return to how it had been. Beyond the desk and chair, it had not much changed with his arrival into Kyuhyun’s life. The marks he had made on Kyuhyun’s house, like the marks made on Zhou Mi’s skin, were temporary and would fade.

Sound broke him from his contemplation and he turned to see Kyuhyun enter.

“Good, you’re here,” Kyuhyun said, not stopping beside Zhou Mi and instead moving to the other side of the desk. It put a barrier between them, one that Zhou Mi felt.

“As you requested,” Zhou Mi said. “Did you rest well?”

“The same as usual. Thank you for asking. It is best that we draw this to a formal close. It was a verbal agreement between us, but I have to ask, do you feel your requirements were met?” Kyuhyun asked.

At first the question was puzzling to Zhou Mi, as though Kyuhyun were asking him if he were dissatisfied, if he wanted compensation. When he thought of where he had been a month prior, and where he was that day, he did not think he could have possibly complained. They had found a storehouse of Euphoria, found a way to help those afflicted by it. They had gained alliances with the Choi family, rescued Jinyong, and yet still more information that Zhou Mi had yet to parse. He could not even have hoped for half of that when he had met with Kyuhyun to start.

“My requirements were more than met,” Zhou Mi told him. “So much progress was made, I cannot believe it.”

“I’m glad,” Kyuhyun said. “It is the same for me. Our bargain was for feeding, and you have fulfilled that. If we are both satisfied by the outcome, then I see no more reason to waste your time. I’m sure you have many things to accomplish.”

“If I have questions? Or if the Organization—“

“Send a note if it’s an emergency. Or have one of your other eager members come to query my help. Once an agreement like ours is over, it is not typical to continue that…acquaintance. Perhaps in the future I will be willing to help again, but it will not be with you.”

Zhou Mi kept what he thought was an admirable amount of control over his face as Kyuhyun spoke. He’d known that there would be no more feeding, a break in contact for a time to give them space. But Kyuhyun was saying there would be no contact, no communication. As though they had not met, or as though something terrible had happened between them.

“If you have all of your things, you can see yourself out,” Kyuhyun said. “It has been enlightening.”

“Yes, I have everything,” Zhou Mi said, his mind scrambling to keep up. “I did have one question. Did you learn what you wanted? About me not being subject to the thrall.”

Kyuhyun met his eyes, but they were guarded, not yielding anything Zhou Mi wanted to see. “Yes. I learned everything I needed to know.”

He’d forgotten at times what had spurred Kyuhyun to form their agreement. It would have been a month of help in exchange only for money, had Zhou Mi decided otherwise. The formal breaking of contract would have seemed to be so logical in that light, instead of standing and holding in any emotion or expression in the face of Kyuhyun’s indifference. It was equally as likely that that was a show, as much as Zhou Mi’s reaction was. Kyuhyun had known even more intimately how different their situations would be at the end of their month. And yet still, he had been the one kissing Zhou Mi before they slept, fingers tightly gripped between Zhou Mi’s, as though he were soaking up all the warmth he could.

Because there would be no more warmth. Not unless - until - Kyuhyun found another human.

Kyuhyun approached him, staying back, so deliberate as he seemed to be trying to herd Zhou Mi out of the library. Right there, he’d stood when they had met. Right there, Kyuhyun had propositioned him, bitten him, kissed him.

“Have you found another human?” Zhou Mi asked. It could have been so friendly, so detached, and yet it wasn’t.

“Not yet,” Kyuhyun said, but his eyes were at Zhou Mi’s shoulders, not his face.

“Thank you for your help. Thank you for all your help,” Zhou Mi told him, before he didn’t have a chance to express his appreciation. But those words weren’t enough to truly convey what he had in his head.

Kyuhyun nodded. “It was returned in full. Good night.”

And Kyuhyun closed the door to the library, leaving Zhou Mi in the hall.

Zhou Mi saw himself out, taking one last trip down the steps to his waiting carriage. He looked back, once, to the window he knew was the library’s. Kyuhyun was not at it, nor had Zhou Mi expected him to be. But it was a different kind of closure.

He thought perhaps he had expected more humor. For Kyuhyun to have tried to bargain for more time, or tease him that he should find another vampire. That it was so somber, so strangely stilted left him off balance. It should have felt like an end, and in many ways it did, but he was not sure that he had fully contemplated all that had happened. Nor would he soon.

***

Kyuhyun waited two days before letting his staff know he was ready to find another human to bite. He was lucky, unlike when he had first been turned. Then, he’d had to find humans on his own. It was a luxury he’d become accustomed to over the last twenty years of his life. He just had a few rules, and one of those was no biting his staff, even if they offered. And if they did offer, they would not have been working for him any longer. He’d let a couple go, with a letter of recommendation. Some things were not done.

They’d found a woman first. It would have been too much to switch to man right away, he reasoned. And yet he’d sent her away without seeing her. He had too much to do. Changmin had sent papers for him to look through, investments. He did not have to think hard to know that Changmin was trying to distract him and keep him busy. It was something he could have done on his own. He’d had plenty to occupy his time before Zhou Mi, and did after. He had not forgotten how to use his hand for pleasure, either, since he had done that whether Zhou Mi was there or not. One way or the other, things still got accomplished.

Not every human he bit and fucked. The hunger was greater than the need for satisfaction. And he wasn’t entirely positive that his body wasn’t expecting Zhou Mi to come to his bedroom door, to lean against the jamb and smile the slow smile that started at his eyes and curled his lips in invitation.

Staining the sheets wet with his come imagining Zhou Mi’s moans, the supple give of his throat, was getting him no closer to feeding.

The man his servants let into the library was not as tall as Zhou Mi, and built differently. More solid through the ribs and hips, though in a way Kyuhyun found he liked.

Kyuhyun wasn’t sure what his intention was yet, until the human began to kiss his neck. It was nice, warm, wet touches. It seemed this human had been with a vampire before, knew what might be wanted, and wanted those. And then he thought of the thrall, the calming effect, and wondered how much of the man’s desire stemmed from that. But he chased it from his mind, letting the human open his shirt and touch him. His stomach contracted at cool fingers. Not warm like Zhou Mi’s were. It depended what this human wanted, how far he would go. He would be shown.

And teeth bit hard on Kyuhyun’s shoulder.

“No, Zhou—“

The smell was wrong.

Kyuhyun’s eyes shot open as he pushed the man back. The man looked confused, unsure what he had done, unsure what Kyuhyun had said. Kyuhyun stood, buttoning his shirt.

“I’m sorry. I forgot I had another engagement and cannot feed now. Leave your name with my staff, and if you’re needed again, you will be called on.”

He did not wait for an answer, striding out the door and heading for the stable. There were a number of things he knew could cure his agitation. A long bite. A bout of sex. A hard ride.

Of the three, the only that sounded appealing was the last. No, that wasn’t true. The first two were appealing as nothing had been before. But the man he wanted, he couldn’t have.

***


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The streets of Zhou Mi's city are being contaminated with a new drug - Euphoria. Pure vampire blood, it causes a high unlike any other, but when the high fades, the nightmares begin. It is the spread of Euphoria that Zhou Mi fights, and in that fight he needs a partner to get him to places and people that only a vampire can.

***

A/N: additional warnings for disturbing imagery in this chapter.

***

It was a fundraiser that he saw Zhou Mi at, for the first time after they had parted. A week just turning past almost to the second, from the moment Zhou Mi had left his house. Changmin had told him that there was no reason for him to go, and it was true. But vampires, he’d said, should show their support. Somehow he’d known that Changmin would insist on going with him. Some kind of bodyguard, a guarantee that if Kyuhyun were desperate that he wouldn’t try to proposition Zhou Mi, or something even more embarrassing.

Kyuhyun wondered how it would be. If there would be looks exchanged over the heads of people he cared nothing about, some hint of longing from Zhou Mi. Perhaps he missed being bitten, or the other delights found in Kyuhyun’s bed. Unless Zhou Mi was experiencing those with someone else, he knew he had to be. He was a man, and did not forget so lightly.

But he’d been in the room ten minutes, surreptitiously checking Zhou Mi’s position, before Zhou Mi spotted him. A polite nod was leveled his way, as Zhou Mi returned to speaking with patrons of the sanitarium. There was insipid music from a quartet in a corner, tables of finger food and drinks. He half wished a tumbler of alcohol would sooth the burning in his stomach.

“He seems to have moved on nicely,” Changmin murmured. And Kyuhyun resisted the urge to step on his foot.

But it was not by chance that Changmin moved closer to him, as Zhou Mi approached them. Solidarity, and warning both.

“Changmin, Kyuhyun. I’m glad you were able to make it.”

Zhou Mi very obviously did not extend a hand to Changmin, else he would have been obligated to extend one to Kyuhyun as well. That wouldn’t have done at all.

“I doubt we will be the entertainment of your party,” Changmin said. “Perhaps we should have worn red hats to distinguish ourselves from your human guests.”

“I know many people here would be interested in speaking with you,” Zhou Mi said. “I might not wish it on you, however.”

Kyuhyun only half swallowed the chuckle. “I’m sure Changmin will find someone with which to converse.”

“Of course. More people are arriving I should greet, but if there is anything else you need, the staff is here.” And Zhou Mi paused, drawing an envelope from the inside his crisp black jacket and looking to Kyuhyun. “I was commanded to give this to you. If you have a reply, you know where to forward it.”

The envelope was nondescript, so Kyuhyun had no true idea of what it could contain. But still he nodded, agreed.

“Thank you both for coming,” Zhou Mi said, and smiled at them both individually. It felt that he lingered longer at Kyuhyun, if only for a moment. He wasn’t sure what Zhou Mi saw. A vampire who couldn’t eat, a weakness that had been mutually created. He saw in Zhou Mi every inch the gracious gentleman and host, a careful reserve that he had not often shown.

It was a veneer that separated them, and voided any connection they might have had.

He’d watched Zhou Mi move around the room for half an hour already, and wasn’t sure how much longer he could do it. He wasn’t even sure what his body or mind was telling him. He could not drag Zhou Mi from the room and demand another contract, or demand that Zhou Mi tell him that his want was too great to be ignored. It was impossible even to stand there, as his mind blanked, too full of conversations he tried to replay, things he should have done. Too full of hunger.

“I find myself tired,” he said, hoping to find a way to leave.

And he more sensed than saw the sharp turn of Changmin’s head. “Tired. Are you eating? You told me you were trying.”

“I have been. I haven’t found someone yet to my taste.”

“Kyuhyun.” A hand grasped his arm hard, turning him. “We shouldn’t have come here. You cannot do this.”

“I’m not trying to. You know that. There is a human waiting for me at home. I will try again. Every day. Perhaps it would be easier away from that house.”

“I don’t think so.”

Changmin’s immediate dismissal rankled him.

“Maybe not. But if it happens, I am protected. We know what to expect. We’ve prepared for it. It won’t kill me.”

“You shouldn’t be worried about it at all. Damn it, Kyuhyun. If you’d just listened. If only I could show you Zhou Mi had found a new vampire to bargain with, maybe you’d see reason.”

“Has he?” Kyuhyun asked, his voice deceptively calm for the sickness that had twisted his stomach at the thought.

“No,” Changmin said, sullen. “He could not even do that for me.”

***

No, Zhou Mi could not have done that for Changmin. But when Kyuhyun sat in his library with the envelope Zhou Mi had given him, he did not know what to expect. He’d waited purposely until he was alone, though Changmin had sent stares at his coat where he’d tucked it. He’d known Changmin wondered what was in it. Some note hoping for a clandestine meeting, Changmin had probably imagined.

But it was not Zhou Mi’s elegant handwriting that he saw, but the scrawl of a child.

“Dear Mr. Cho (splotch)

I liked your cookie. There are books here. I like dogs.

(Illegible),  
Jinyong”

The second page had no words at all, but the crude drawing of what Kyuhyun assumed to be a shark taking a bite from a massive cookie.

He laughed, feeling the tension drain from him. The letter had been perhaps to practice his writing, but the drawing was much more personal. It told him that Jinyong remembered that day, sitting with him and with Zhou Mi, and looking through books together. Simpler days.

But it also told him that Jinyong had sent his letter and picture to Zhou Mi, expecting that where Zhou Mi was, Kyuhyun would be as well. It took his delight, the fun of it, and squashed it flat. He would reply, of course. Jinyong deserved that. It would mean addressing an envelope and very polite letter to Zhou Mi, so that Zhou Mi could forward it along. Zhou Mi had been commanded to pass it along, he’d said. He could imagine.

Kyuhyun set the papers aside, and breathed deep. If he was strong enough to think those thoughts, they he would be strong enough to do what needed to be done.

So he opened his library door, addressed his servant, and waited until the woman who had been found for him to feed from entered. He nodded at the woman, nicely dressed. He could feel in his body some strange twist. Perhaps it was hunger, or perhaps something else. All he knew was that he had no choice but to eat. Changmin’s admonitions, a month and a half of them, swirled through his head. Zhou Mi was a threat. Zhou Mi was—

He’d sworn that wouldn’t happen. It wouldn’t. No matter what he had to do, he would make the change.

“How do you want me, sir?”

Kyuhyun wondered if he heard nervousness in her voice. He wondered if she were married, or engaged. Some highborn women enjoyed a bit of vampire fantasy, though without the danger. It was why they were in the library and not his bedroom.

“In the chair, the settee there is fine,” Kyuhyun said.

He could take her nerves away. She sat, very prim, waiting. And for some reason his mind went to Zhou Mi, the way he had stood so straight and proper to ask for Kyuhyun’s help.

Kyuhyun sat, slow and not too near so as not to alarm her. At the first touch of his hand, he could sense her relaxing. He encouraged that, until she looked at him and smiled.

“Have you done this before?”

“Several times, sir. My brother’s friend is a vampire, so he says vampires always need humans to feed from.”

“That’s true. It will not hurt, but you know that. And you will be fine. Just lean into me, yes like that.”

Her neck was supple, head angled up and away Perfect. A blank canvas in which to sink his teeth, unmarred by other marks.

Zhou Mi’s skin had borne the marks of past feedings, faint and healing fast, but not enough to escape Kyuhyun’s eyes. He could see where he had been, where he had fed.

Kyuhyun pressed his lips to her neck and tried to call down his teeth. He wondered if he could smell her blood, if—

He made the mistake of inhaling.

It was the faint scent of smoke, and some fragrance high and sweet. Vanilla or a flower essence.

“ _Kyuhyun,_ ” Zhou Mi had said, humor in his voice and some damnable mystery in his eyes that even after a month he had not figured out.

Kyuhyun gagged.

He shoved himself up off of the settee and ran for his wastebasket. The feeling of sickness was strangling, forcing him to dry heave even as he gasped for air. He had nothing to vomit in him, no relief for his sickness.

“Sir? Are you all right?”

He hoped the sound he made was something like agreement. It sounded like more of a whine as he gripped the metal edge.

A glass of water was set down beside him. “In case you need it,” the woman told him.

He took a fortifying breath. “Thank you. I’m sorry I’m not up to feed— To feed now. You may go.”

He retched again, and all vestiges of hunger, any illusions he had that he would find it, left with the woman. He had not given up, no. But he knew that the precautions he had to take in case he could not find a human he could bite could not be put off any longer.

***

“You are… You are the gentleman, yes? Sir. Mr. Zhou?”

Hat in hand, Zhou Mi paused on the path behind the sanitarium. He had only to round the corner to get to his horse, a long night’s work concluded after his fundraiser with his hands tired and back sore. He’d ridden over only to check and exult with Dr. Lee over the funds that had been promised, before going to a long night’s rest. It seemed that would be delayed. He did not recognize the man, but he had seen so many pass through.

“I am. May I help you?”

“I have a family member touched by the Euphoria. He’s in a wagon. I can’t pay. I heard you—“

“You do not need to pay here. If you have something to contribute, you can, but we turn no one away. If you would let me get a nurse, we can help your brother inside. The path here is wide, and you can drive your wagon here.”

“Bless you, sir. Please. Show me where I turn.”

Zhou Mi followed the man, concerned for how badly the man’s brother must be, at his relief.

But not stupid when he saw the wagon, the man holding the horses, and another at its bed.

There was no sick man there.

Zhou Mi spun and did not fall, racing back for the sanitarium entrance and the locks it held. With each step, his mind raced with him. There were no fighters there, but there was safety in numbers. He saw the light shining through the door. If they wished to rob him, or hold him for ransom, or—

A hard shove to his shoulder sent him sprawling, body scraping over the gravel. A foot on his back knocked the air from him and kept him from calling out.

He was pulled up, and he struck out, knuckles connecting with a face, and then groaning as his arms were pulled tight, painful, behind his back as he was half shoved, half carried to the wagon.

“Why are you doing this?” Zhou Mi gasped out as he was shoved against the wagon bed. “Money? I have money.”

“We want no money of yours. But your nose is liable to be lost, if you keep sticking it in places it should not go.”

“A little taste of your own medicine, Mr. Zhou,” a second man said. “I hope you enjoy it.”

Something hard was pressed against his lips. At first, he thought it would be water, that they meant to try and drown him, or poison him. But it was thicker, and the metallic taste as it flowed over his tongue had his eyes flying open. Blood.

No, not just blood. What the men had said finally made sense. Vampire blood. Euphoria. They were force-feeding him Euphoria.

His whole body convulsed as he gagged, feeling what he had involuntarily swallowed rise up his throat. But no matter how much he spit and choked, more flowed into his mouth until it was a choice of swallow or suffocate.

His vision began to blur, hands tingling as he sputtered. But even after they stopped pouring the blood into him, his head was held back so he couldn’t lean over and vomit.

“It’s a bigger dose than normal,” the man said, tucking a jar back into his coat. “We sell half what you spit out for more than you could imagine. But you’ll like it, I think. It’s blood that’s _special_ to you.”

He was shoved into the back of the wagon, dropped there as his head spun. As the wagon began to move, he was sick for other reasons but the will was not in him to gag. The rattling of the wheels on hard ground shook him, undid him, as the Euphoria coursed through his body. If he could only get to Kyuhyun. Kyuhyun would know what to do. Dr. Lee. Changmin. Anyone. It was like liquid death, his heart racing and head spinning.

The worst was the the part of his mind still working, he knew it would not kill him. The terrors that came after the high and the feelings that others wanted for fun, and then needed more blood, and more, to keep those feelings and ward off the terrors - until there was not enough blood, or money, that could do it. He knew that. He feared it.

The wagon stopped, and Zhou Mi’s head rolled like a rag doll’s, until he was pulled by his legs until he half stood on trembling knees that could not keep his weight. Two men with their hands under his arms, dragged him up a set of steps. Even with his head spinning, he recognized them. Kyuhyun’s home. How ironic that they had brought him to the one place he’d wanted to be.

But with one man holding him down, covering his mouth, the other beat quick jabs into his ribs, into his gut, and then into his thigh with a foot.

“You both were trouble. Tell him hello from us, if you can,” the man at his head told him, and then pushed Zhou Mi’s skull hard into the stone.

The cold was overwhelming, the pain and dizziness from the blows. He opened his mouth to call for help, and only a tiny squeak emerged. His fingers flexed, the only vestige of movement as he thought of knocking upon the door to summon someone. The door could have been only a foot away, behind him, and might as well have been in another country.

Kyuhyun. He was so close. If they didn’t open the door, didn’t find him— The chill sank into his bones.

He stared at a pebble glistening with frost, until the darkness took him.

***

Kyuhyun locked himself in his library, ordering not to be disturbed, and he tried not to brood. He checked accounts, made out payments, and correspondence. For a while, he even tried to read, but the novel he selected held no interest for him. A ride might clear his mind, and he’d nearly decided upon it, when his ears pricked to a knock on the door, and commotion in the front hall.

Despite his order, and without any knock at all, a footman burst into the library.

Kyuhyun was on his feet, admonition almost on his lips, before the boy spoke.

“You must come quick, sir! It’s Mr. Zhou!”

The panic had him moving quickly, even as confusion washed over him. Why Zhou Mi would be there, causing such an uproar, he couldn’t know. He knew the staff had grown fond of Zhou Mi, but even an unexpected visit should not have caused a total breakdown of his orders. Zhou Mi should have been told he was not accepting visitors, and sent away.

“A passerby knocked on the door when they saw him. He was just lying on the front—“

Zhou Mi was pale, almost ashen, snow falling from his hair and clothes as Kyuhyun leaped forward to where he was being held up between two servants.

‘What happened?”

“I don’t know, sir. We found him on the stoop, sir. Just lying there. We don’t know for how long.”

Kyuhyun could see blood coming from Zhou Mi’s hairline, bruises on his face. His mouth looked ringed in blood, all over his chin and throat. But that wasn’t focus. It was the cold-pale skin that seemed half frozen against his hand, Zhou Mi barely stirring at the touch.

To the maid, he turned. “Have hot water taken to my bath immediately, as much as you can.” And to the footmen, “We’ll carry him up.”

It was quite obvious that Zhou Mi could not walk on his own. Zhou Mi was docile, but dead weight, and Kyuhyun got him over his shoulder, the footmen standing by to steady him if need be. Expediency was key. Whatever injuries Zhou Mi had, he needed to be warmed, quickly. The air outside was frigid, he knew that too well.

The bath was half full when Kyuhyun pushed through the door, the room a flurry of movement as maids brought up water by the bucket, steaming to be mixed with cool. Onto a stool, Zhou Mi was placed, and Kyuhyun undid the fine knot at Zhou Mi’s throat as fast as he was able - short of ripping or cutting it off. The clothes were stained with grass and dirt and blood, wet in places and cold. The skin of Zhou Mi’s chest was just as pale and cool and marked, with red blooming bruises as Kyuhyun steadied him as his trousers were stripped.

The bath was not yet full, but Kyuhyun couldn’t wait. He tested the water on his own skin, on one of the footmen as well, to make sure it wasn’t too hot. They could warm it further after he was in it. It would be painful enough, as warm as it was.

He took Zhou Mi’s torso, hefting Zhou Mi as the footmen helped, to lower him into the bath.

Zhou Mi arched, sound almost a keening pain as his body sank in the water. He was still mostly unconscious, but his body was moving of its own accord.

“Get back,” Kyuhyun told the footmen, supporting Zhou Mi himself. He didn’t want them to get kicked, or splashed, and he was the one Zhou Mi knew. If anyone could get Zhou Mi to calm, it was him. “Zhou Mi. Zhou Mi! Try to be still. We’re warming you up.”

The water was barely more than tepid, but far warmer than Zhou Mi’s skin.

“A cloth,” Kyuhyun demanded, and one was put into his hand. He ran the heated water over Zhou Mi’s face, shoulders, and chest. Each bucket of water that was added was warmed and mixed to his approval, until the water rose up Zhou Mi’s body. A bucket removed, and a warmer one added, warming the water, and Zhou Mi as well. A cloth, warmed at the heater, rested over the top of Zhou Mi’s head and over his ears.

And then the shakes began. Violent trembles as Zhou Mi’s body functioned, sought to warm itself.

“Another warm cloth,” Kyuhyun said, and changed the cloth on Zhou Mi’s head. Another warm bucket of water.

Warm, until Zhou Mi’s skin began to glow pink, instead of frozen white. Kyuhyun checked his fingers and toes for injury, but they were normal colored as well, warm as the rest of him.

“It looks like someone beat him, sir,” one of the footmen said, standing back in something like horror after he’d poured in the water.

It did. Bruises on Zhou Mi’s ribs, a scrape on his knees. The knuckles on his right hand were slightly swollen, skin broken, as though he’d fought back. He must have been attacked. There was no other explanation for it. How he had ended up at Kyuhyun’s home was a mystery. As warnings went, it made sense if they were still bound by contract. Those were answers only Zhou Mi could give, and he was still mostly unconscious.

It took three men to lift Zhou Mi safely, so he could be wrapped in robe and carried to Kyuhyun’s bed.

Kyuhyun warred with himself. They could call a doctor, but he did not know what good that would do. He had memories of his own chills as a child. All they could do was keep him warm, get something warm inside him, and hope.

“Zhou Mi,” Kyuhyun said, squeezing Zhou Mi’s shoulder. “Can you wake?”

It took almost a minute for Zhou Mi to truly rouse, his eyelids opening as though he were drunk, and eyes darting as though he were having trouble focusing.

“Kyuhyun,” Zhou Mi said, his voice high and light.

“I’m here. Rest back for me.”

Zhou Mi murmured as Kyuhyun tucked his arm in, pulling the covers up to Zhou Mi’s shoulders. Odd how a man taller than Kyuhyun could seem so young and vulnerable. Like a child put to bed after a long day, and looking for approval. As long as Zhou Mi didn’t catch a fever, come down with something in his lungs, he’d undoubtedly recover. Right in Kyuhyun’s bed, until other arrangements could be made. Zhou Mi would likely not want to stay, given. And it would be dangerous to let him. Kyuhyun knew that. Temptation that ran too far. He needed a new human lined up, one he could bite. It made him jittery that he was looking at the man who was his reason for not having one yet.

“Who did this to you?” Kyuhyun asked, studying Zhou Mi’s face. It was possible that Zhou Mi was lucid enough to answer him. So Kyuhyun could start the wheels of justice.

“I don’t know. Kyuhyun.” Zhou Mi sighed, the sound almost ethereal, distant, unlike any sound Zhou Mi had ever made. “Kyuhyun.”

Kyuhyun reached for him, and Zhou Mi leaned into the hand against his cheek and smiled up at Kyuhyun. A smile of utter trust.

His pupils were wide, eyes glassy.

It wasn’t the beating, or the freezing weather. But cold slicked over Kyuhyun’s skin, chill and fear as Zhou Mi repeated his name again. Something he had never seen in Zhou Mi, had never expected to.

Zhou Mi was in thrall.

***

But it was not a normal thrall. It was the deepest thrall he had ever seen. Self preservation was normally forefront. He could not ask a human to slit their own throat, or throw themselves from a building. And the thrall did not induce them to do anything they were truly averse to - it was not a tool to relax, and coddle.

“Do you know what happened?”

Zhou Mi shook his head, grasping Kyuhyun’s hands to keep them on his face.

“Zhou Mi. How did you end up here?”

“Men. At the Sanitarium?” Zhou Mi hummed, nuzzling against Kyuhyun’s thumb. “Blood. They gave me blood.”

Just like Jinyong. There had been that warning. Horror swamped over him. Zhou Mi had been dosed with Euphoria. That had been the blood on his face, where he’d tried to spit it out, or else whoever had done it had very poor aim.

He left Zhou Mi there for only moments, finding the first servant he could to have them send for Changmin. Zhou Mi looked so normal there in his bed, until Kyuhyun touched him and he went pliant. It allowed him to get some warmed soup into Zhou Mi’s body.

“You’ll fight this,” Kyuhyun told him. “Jinyong is doing so much better. You’ll fight this, too.”

“Kyuhyun. I’m keeping your bed warm for you,” Zhou Mi whispered against his face.

“I know. Thank you. Rest. Sleep. Heal.”

He watched as Zhou Mi’s eyelids closed, the rise and fall of his chest. Maybe he’d dreamed of having Zhou Mi back in his bed, but it hadn’t been that way.

“You’re stronger than any vampire blood,” Kyuhyun whispered. “You’re stronger than me.”

He had no doubt that his struggles to eat were his and his alone. Zhou Mi would have gone back to his home, his bed, his food and friends without problem. It was why Changmin had warned him. He was the one in danger of opening part of himself, when Zhou Mi moved on. Zhou Mi would find a normal human, to have afternoon picnics and rides with. A human without any agreement, without anything held over him, who would help him willingly.

“Sir, Mr. Shim,” a servant said quietly.

Kyuhyun stood, careful not to jostle the bed as he went for the door. They wouldn’t speak where Zhou Mi could hear, and Changmin was waiting in the hallway.

“Zhou Mi is here?” Changmin asked, accusation in his voice.

“What do you want me to say? Yes, the human I was dallying with was brought to me, injured. Was I supposed to turn him away? He was beaten. And he’s in thrall so deeply, deeper than I have ever seen.”

“Perhaps he was angry for you casting him off.”

Kyuhyun laughed, the irony of it washing over him. “You saw how indifferently he treated me at that fundraiser. I wouldn’t have called you if it wasn’t serious. He did not beat himself. And he did not drink Euphoria of his own choosing.”

Changmin studied Kyuhyun’s face, but there was no joking in his words. “It’s an anomaly. A man who can sleep with you and know his own mind, and after be undone.”

“Yes. I suspect it has something to do with what we accomplished.”

“Kyuhyun?”

Kyuhyun turned, seeing Zhou Mi had gotten out of bed and was walking toward him. He stood still as Zhou Mi approached, and Zhou Mi’s head pressed against his shoulder.

“Kyuhyun.”

Changmin observed them, the way that Zhou Mi held Kyuhyun tight, stroked his face and kept him close.

“Kyuhyunloveyou.”

It was said all rushed together, so much so that Kyuhyun couldn’t even understand the words at first. But his eyes widened as Zhou Mi tried to hold him even closer.

“I knew of your feelings. You hadn’t told me he was in love with you,” Changmin accused.

“It is the thrall,” Kyuhyun said, pushing Zhou Mi back, gently.

“The thrall can do many things. But it can’t induce emotions like this.”

Kyuhyun closed his eyes as Zhou Mi pressed his face into Kyuhyun’s neck. “Then it’s the Euphoria itself, some hallucination. This is no thrall I’ve seen. This isn’t normal for him.”

It took little urging for Zhou Mi to follow him, Zhou Mi looking at him as though he were some sort of deity. He was so wound up in the effects of the Euphoria, as evidenced by his insistence even though weak and injured, as though nothing could hurt him. But when Kyuhyun touched him, it made him ill to see Zhou Mi’s reaction.

He stayed still, close, watching as Changmin sat on the bed beside Zhou Mi.

“You told Kyuhyun you were attacked?”

“Mm,” Zhou Mi agreed. “They gave me Euph…phor? Phoria. Euph. Phoria.” Zhou Mi laughed a little to himself, and looked up at Kyuhyun with concern. “They shouldn’t have?”

That Zhou Mi asked, as though he didn’t know made Kyuhyun’s jaw tighten. Zhou Mi was the one who was passionate, who knew everything there was about the evils that drinking vampire blood caused. It had been horrible to see Jinyong affected by the Euphoria and Kyuhyun’s connection to him had been peripheral at best. Zhou Mi, however, was something different entirely. He’d come to know many expressions on Zhou Mi’s face, his pride and dedication, and the person he saw in his bed was not the man he knew.

Nor did Zhou Mi react to Changmin’s touch as he did to Kyuhyun’s. There was a deepening of his pliancy, but he did not fall so deeply into the thrall.

“What does that mean?”

“I don’t know. Here, touch him again.”

Kyuhyun did as Changmin asked, taking Zhou Mi’s hand. The effect was instantaneous, Zhou Mi’s face raising.

“Kyuhyun.”

“Smile,” he told Zhou Mi, and got the silly look of adoration that Zhou Mi had shown him to begin with. “No. Smile for me, damn it.”

“He is smiling, Kyuhyun,” Changmin told, him, his hand on Kyuhyun’s arm.

“No. That’s not the way he smiles at me.”

It was different. The lopsided curl of his lips, the tease in his eyes. It was warmth, like a sunbeam on cold skin. Or on a cold soul. So genuine and perfect, it had made Kyuhyun’s fingers curl. The expression on Zhou Mi’s face right then was sincere, pleasant. But it wasn’t the same.

“Kyuhyun.”

“We have to fix him.”

“We will. He seems to be reacting to your presence as well as your touch. I’d imagine the only way he could be helped, would be like the others. A vampire can fix this. And it must be done quickly, too.”

Kyuhyun’s mouth thinned. _The others_ had been bitten.

“But why so strongly to me? It can’t be because of any imagined feelings.”

“What if he was fed your blood?” Changmin wondered. “Zhou Mi, did they tell you whose blood they gave you?”

Zhou Mi shook his head, and disappointment shuddered through Kyuhyun. If they knew that, he wasn’t sure what they would be able to do with the information. But for his own knowledge, he wanted to know. Suspicions weren’t enough.

A squeeze to his hand had Kyuhyun looking down, and then meeting Zhou Mi’s eyes. “They said it was very special to me.”

Or perhaps he didn’t want to know.

“Fuck,” he whispered, letting go of Zhou Mi’s hand. “Then it was mine?”

“That’s what makes sense. Have you bitten him since he arrived? Kyuhyun, answer me.”

His hesitation was normal, he thought. They were only supposed to have had a month. Biting again after that time was highly inadvisable, encouraging a trend, something close to addiction.

“I nearly did. Not to feed, but to check,” he said, as though that made much difference.

Changmin looked at Kyuhyun with such a lack of patience. “I would think your bite is too close, so you could not help him anyway. Though if you had, I would have felt more relieved if you had bitten him only to feed. But that is a path that is a dangerous one.”

“It’s why you are here.”

“Then why did you look so angry at the thought of other vampires biting him?”

“Let a hundred vampires bite him!” Kyuhyun shot back, pacing away before whirling back. “Don’t look at me like that. I know what needs to be done. If I hadn’t, I would have gotten you. I could’ve kept him here as my little love slave until it drove him insane.”

“But he wouldn’t have been the man you wanted,” Changmin said, almost a little too smug.

No, the Zhou Mi who stared up at him then with soft and longing eyes was not the man he knew. The outward appearance was not so changed, but the give to Kyuhyun, the urge to be near, the lack of an emotional filter were very much different. Had it been Zhou Mi of a week previous standing in front of him, declaring his love and begging to stay, he couldn’t say what his stomach or his knees would have done in response. Much less his—

His heart. Because he had one, against all his better judgements.

***

Zhou Mi was able to walk down the stairs, supported by both of them. It was a bit like guiding a drunken cow, however, because Zhou Mi was so very pliant and eager and still hurt. He’d caught sight of the bruising on Zhou Mi’s chest and thighs again as they were wrapping him tight in trousers and double robes so he would stay warm. He didn’t think that Zhou Mi would appreciate the reference, but it was the truth for right then.

Kyuhyun wasn’t even sure what his plans were, as they helped Zhou Mi climb into the carriage. Rather than ask why, he just went, guided until he was sitting, stable. He could go with Changmin, Kyuhyun reasoned. Get Zhou Mi settled and then return. Zhou Mi would be calmer then, perhaps.

And then Changmin held him back.

“Stay here.”

“Changmin—“

“I’ll care for him. You know I will. If I need your thrall to calm him, I’ll send for you, but he is not deep in the Euphoria’s aftereffects.”

Kyuhyun frowned, but it urged him to say what he had begun to suspect. “I wonder if he resists some of that, like he does the thrall usually. If this deep thrall is his way of fighting it.”

“Perhaps. But he is not your concern now. He sent away Jinyong because it was best. Now it’s your turn.”

“If I were Zhou Mi, I’d say every human was my concern,” Kyuhyun muttered.

Changmin laughed, squeezing and shaking Kyuhyun’s shoulder. “But you’re not.”

“Kyuhyun,” Zhou Mi called.

“I’ll say goodbye to him at least,” Kyuhyun said, and did not wait for Changmin’s approval. He got there before Zhou Mi could think about climbing out and back into the cold. He took Zhou Mi’s hand, leaning into the carriage.

“You need to go with Changmin now, so he can help you. You don’t have to be afraid. Changmin isn’t going to hurt you.” Besides the biting. But at least he knew, knew beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Zhou Mi’s condition wouldn’t be taken advantage of.

“But I will see you,” Zhou Mi insisted.

“You will,” he said, not knowing how to deny it. But that was one thing he didn’t believe. “So behave.”

Zhou Mi urged him closer, eyes soft. “I will. I miss you. I love you, Kyuhyun.”

Kyuhyun’s eyes closed as Zhou Mi kissed him. He could’ve pushed Zhou Mi back, avoided it. The truth was he wanted it. Rationalized it as a goodbye. Rationalized that Zhou Mi needed it to calm himself. And he lost himself to it, as Zhou Mi sighed against his mouth, a rolling kiss where they never parted.

“Kyuhyun.”

Of course it was his name that Changmin called, and not Zhou Mi’s to make sure that they were going to be able to leave. It meant pulling away his face, and watching Zhou Mi’s eyes slowly open. To back away, and close the carriage door after Changmin.

The panic that shot through Zhou Mi’s eyes as the carriage rolled away stayed with him for long after.

***

They brought him a woman, a different one, only an hour after Zhou Mi had gone with Changmin. Kyuhyun was the one to suggest it. It was the worst time, but perhaps it was also the best time, when he was so determined, when his mind could not get in the way of feeding.

She was a prostitute, found as quickly as possible since the daylight hours were not far away.

“Thank you for coming,” he told her, standing and feeling his balance give slightly.

“Anything you pay for, sir.”

He stepped close, noting how small she was, a head shorter than him. Though Kyuhyun did not age, she looked older than him by at least ten years. He wondered how old she truly was.

He saw the sadness in her eyes , and sent her away with payment in full.

Changmin sent him a note the next night, that Zhou Mi was resting and healing. Changmin had bitten him, perhaps multiple times to start his body toward mending the damage the Euphoria had done. Kyuhyun did not like to contemplate it.

Nor any of the days after when Changmin thought to send him updates. The terrors had begun. Zhou Mi was sick. Zhou Mi had been sedated. He thought Changmin sent updates because he knew if he did not that Kyuhyun would be on his doorstep.

The hunger was weak, as his staff tried to persuade him. It made him ill, almost physically ill again, to think of biting a human. Male, female. No matter how pleasing aesthetically. They were pliant and full of thrall, and he thought of Zhou Mi so trusting, smiling at him with his eyes catching the light. The sweet smile he gave to Kyuhyun alone and the way those hands, broad palms, would catch the back of his head and hold him as he fed. Not because he feared, but because he wanted Kyuhyun at his neck, in his body. Kyuhyun made a strangled sound, shaking his head to rid himself of the images. No matter what Zhou Mi wanted, no matter what either of them wanted, they could not have it.

He would find his appetite, one way or another. Even if it meant leaving the city to do it. A change of scenery, a place where memories of Zhou Mi’s laughter were not. Some pretty village maid, or a farmer’s son with strong arms. Perhaps after Zhou Mi had recovered, when there was no danger left.

He thought of Zhou Mi’s hands against his face, mouth pressing gently to his, and shuddered. And alone in his chair, lifted his face for a kiss that was only in his mind.

***

Blood. There was so much blood in his dreams. Zhou Mi ran, as rabid dogs bit at him, dragged him down. He ran more, until he could not breathe - waking and choking and pleading for help.

He dreamed, Kyuhyun above him, face half in shadow. It was a moment of comfort, such familiar weight that he wanted to reach and hold. Then he opened his mouth and tasted the first drop of blood. He startled, watching as tears ran red down Kyuhyun’s face, dropping onto his skin. Kyuhyun’s lips parted and blood pulsed from it, sheets falling onto Zhou Mi’s neck. It was his blood. His blood from Kyuhyun, but he didn’t want it back—

He screamed as his skin went wet, Kyuhyun dissolving - drowning him, bathing him. It smelled of blood and death, and he knew that just as Kyuhyun was dying right in front of him, Zhou Mi would die with him.

He clawed at his own skin to get it off, to let him breathe, to save Kyuhyun—

People shouted at him, holding him down.

“Kyuhyun. Kyuhyun,” he sobbed.

“Kyuhyun is fine,” a familiar voice told him. “Rest.”

He felt a pain on his arm, teeth. A calm swept him, and the darkness rolled over him.

***

Zhou Mi woke to an unfamiliar ceiling, nightmares clinging to the edges of his mind. Fire and blood. He flexed his fingertips, the only part of him that seemed not to hurt. In trying to clear his throat, what came out was a cross between a gurgle and a moan.

“Mr. Zhou? Oh, you’re awake. Wait one moment,” a pleasant female voice said.

He wasn’t sure what else he could do but wait. His mouth felt full of cotton, and swallowing make him nearly choke.

“Sorry, sir,” the woman said a moment later. “Here.”

Something wet and sweet and tasting faintly of lemon passed his lips from a spoon. It soothed him, but only partly.

“More,” he croaked, and would have drank until there was nothing left as spoon after spoon of liquid slid down his throat.

“Not too much, so he won’t be sick.” Zhou Mi sighed at the cool hand against his face. Calm settled him for a moment. Changmin. “The Euphoria is not yet gone from you. Rest more.”

He did not want to. The smell of ash haunted him, fear of strangling on his own blood. There had been something in what he drank, he thought, as the room seemed to spin. His eyelids lowered, as Changmin smoothed back his hair.

He dreamed of the bite - bitten on his arms and chest and neck. Kyuhyun watched from a corner, seated and comfortable.

Zhou Mi wept, begging for his help.

“Please don’t let them kill me. Make them stop biting me! Kyuhyun!”

His face was wet with tears that felt like fire as he slept, and dreamed of death.

***

When Zhou Mi woke again, broth wet his mouth and throat. A woman he had never seen before smiled at him.

“You are safe, sir,” she assured him.

The walls did not twist in front of his eyes, or ooze with blood, so his head relaxed into her hand. As he swallowed, he had questions, ones he could not put to words as he flexed his hands and his ankles.

“You’re awake again.”

Changmin entered Zhou Mi’s line of sight, looming over the bed as the woman let Zhou Mi’s head relax and moved so Changmin could sit next to him.

“Kyuhyun?”

“No. It’s Changmin

At least at that, Zhou Mi smiled, his face feeling frozen. And though he had to clear his throat, voice rusty, he spoke. “Yes, I know it’s you. Is Kyuhyun here?”

“No. He has asked after you, though. I’ve told him you are doing well.”

“This is your home.”

“Yes, it is. This is the room Jinyong stayed in as he was recovering.”

“You rescued both of us,” Zhou Mi said, hoping it sounded like a jest, but it came out more like a whisper. “How long have I been here?”

“Nearly two weeks. The nightmares started as you began to crave more blood,” Changmin said. “Your friend, Dr. Lee, drugged you deeply, and I fed from you as much as I dared to rid your system of it.”

“I feel so weak.”

“You were being fed broth, but you should be strong enough. I’ll have food brought up to you, if you are able to keep this down.”

And Zhou Mi had a terrible thought. “Is there any Euphoria left in me?”

“No. You were so deep in nightmares, I bit you longer than I did Jinyong, to make sure you were free of it. But you had more Euphoria in your blood than he did. I haven’t bitten you for several days. You were clean.”

Some of the sick fear in him relaxed.

“Thank you,” he said, and Changmin nodded. As much of an answer as he would get. “I’ll have more of the broth now.”

Changmin left him with the woman again, to feed, and to rest.

***

Zhou Mi slept again, woke, and tried to remember. He remembered the taste of the blood, of being dumped at Kyuhyun’s door. He remembered pain. Sickness, dizziness and nightmares. He was propped up in the bed, having just eaten, and full of questions.

“Kyuhyun found me.”

Changmin nodded. “His servants did, yes. You had nearly frozen to death, high on the Euphoria. You’d been beaten. You also had a nasty head cold for the first week, probably from being outside so long. You’re lucky to be alive and talking. Dr. Lee was afraid it would move into your lungs.”

Dr. Lee had been to see him. He only vaguely remembered that. But Dr. Lee he could find as soon as he was well enough. It was Kyuhyun where his concern was.

“Will Kyuhyun come here?”

“No, that is not advisable.”

“I remember him caring for me. He helped me into your carriage. He kissed me.”

“Or you kissed him,” Changmin said, staring at the wall instead of at Zhou Mi. “He has a kind heart, and you were quite clearly suffering.”

“He does not seem the type to be afraid—“

“You are a good man,” Changmin interrupted him. “It is safer for him this way. I respect what you are trying to do, that what you are doing is helping both vampires and humans. But Kyuhyun is beyond your reach, even as a friend.”

“You never explained why.”

“I’m sorry I cannot. I suspect in a few days you will be strong enough to move to your own home, and your own staff will be able to look after you since I taste no more vampire blood in you.”

“And it could take weeks to fully recover,” Zhou Mi said, resigned.

Perhaps longer. Most of his worry then was that he didn’t know how recovered he could get. If there were impairments, he could deal with them. His mind was the one thing he wanted most. He recited details of his life to himself, calculated simple mathematics, mapped portions of the city in his head. It seemed the Euphoria had not taken that from him. But it had left him with an un-waning tiredness. He woke to eat and relieve himself, to speak to a servant or answer Changmin’s questions of how he felt, and then he slept again.

He still had night terrors, nightmares. But they lessened, and followed him less into his waking moments.

But Changmin’s predictions were right. In two days, he was well enough to walk short distances with assistance, which allowed him to go to his own home. On the way, they passed the street he took to go to Kyuhyun’s home. It took all his strength, and all the strength he still had yet to gain back, to keep from ordering the carriage to turn and take him there.

***

Kyuhyun’s eyes were so heavy. He was so hungry. He hadn’t been able to focus for a day, maybe two if he was honest. Three. All he did was sit at his desk and stare at blank paper. If he picked up a pen, his hand shook. It took effort to climb the stairs to sleep, as though the sun was dragging him down. Even the thought of another human coming to try to feed from sent panic through him. Cold shivered through him as he remembered the bruises on Zhou Mi’s skin.

He wondered how close he’d come to losing Zhou Mi that night. A kick in another place, a blow to the head.

He wasn’t Kyuhyun’s to lose. That was said in Changmin’s voice, of course.

“Kyuhyun.”

“Hmm?” Zhou Mi’s face floated in front of him. “Oh. It’s you.”

“I’m waiting for you to bite me. Come to bed, Kyuhyun.”

“Yes,” Kyuhyun said, pushing up out of his chair. “What took you so long?”

“I was always here. Come find me. I want you.”

His eyes frantically took in the breadth of Zhou Mi’s shoulders as he walked toward him. “I want _you._ I can’t bite anyone else. You have to help me. I’ll give you anything.”

Kyuhyun tripped over a footstool, going down hard on his knees. He hissed at the sting, scrambling to his feet.

“Zhou Mi!”

But no one was there.

He raced for the hallway, nearly running into a footman.

“Zhou Mi. Where did he go?”

“Sir?”

“Zhou Mi was just here. You must have seen him. He just came out of the library.”

“No, sir. No one has been here all night. I’d have heard the door. Sir, are you all right?”

“Of course. He must have slipped in the servant’s entrance. I have to go to him. Have someone saddle my horse. He’ll be going home. I can’t delay, so—“

“Sir. No one has been here. Not by any entrance.”

“But I just saw him in the library.”

Another footman came up beside him. “No, sir. Mr. Zhou hasn’t been here since he left with Mr. Shim.”

“But I saw him. I saw him.” Kyuhyun faltered, feeling his head spin as another thought struck him. “Changmin told you to tell me that, didn’t he? He’s trying to keep us apart.”

“No, sir. Please, come sit, sir.”

He followed them, because he felt like he would fall otherwise. He’d seen Zhou Mi, he knew he had. Maybe if he sat still, and everyone left, Zhou Mi would come back. He was just hiding. It would be secret, just between them.

“Kyuhyun.”

Kyuhyun opened his eyes, but it was not the man he had hoped. Changmin.

“Zhou Mi?”

“At his home. Probably asleep.”

“Why are you here?”

“Your servants sent for me. Said you were acting strangely. Has it begun?”

Kyuhyun rested his head back. Maybe that was the explanation. Then Zhou Mi had never been there. It had been his mind playing tricks on him from the hunger, and the need.

“I thought I saw him,” Kyuhyun said.

“I know. I’m sorry. I think it’s time, before you think you see him again and ride off and get lost in the city calling for him.”

Kyuhyun snorted. “How pitiful would that be? I must have scared them.”

“A little,” Changmin agreed. “Let’s go then. I know everything I need to to keep your house running, so you have nothing to worry about.”

“Good.”

“Are you ready, then?”

Kyuhyun nodded, standing with the support of Changmin’s arm. “I’m ready.”

***

Into the basement of his home had been built a partition, accessed from a hidden staircase behind the library. Besides the stairs, it was empty but for a mattress on the floor, and a light overhead. There were no windows, nothing breakable that Kyuhyun would be able to hurt himself on. The door was reinforced so that while locked, no one could get out.

It was a precaution, and it was a necessity. A vampire that went too long without blood was a danger to himself and to others. It was the blood frenzy, when the body began to shut down, to try and regain control of itself. There were only two ways the blood frenzy ended. One was with patience, waiting for the raging need in the body to pass, until the vampire was too weak to fight it. It was in that time of weakness that another human might be substituted, letting the body adjust to feeding again.

The only other way was for the vampire to bite the last human they had bitten. It became fascination, obsession. And it was no simple bite. The human bitten in the blood frenzy was in danger from the vampire because of that loss of control. And it was not so much the danger, but the knowledge that the human had to know why the vampire was in such a state.

Kyuhyun pictured Zhou Mi there, seeing him horrible in need. Need in so many ways. Begging him to stay.

“Promise me you will not send for him,” Kyuhyun said, grasping Changmin’s shirt. “No matter how bad it gets for me down there, promise me you will not send for him.”

Changmin squeezed his elbows. “I promise.”

Of course. He should not have worried. Changmin had tried to protect him to begin with. If he’d listened to Changmin, he wouldn’t be on the edge of tipping into losing control.

There was nothing to do but wait. So he waited. Hungered. The hallucination of Zhou Mi did not come again, but he also didn’t invite it.

“I can’t bite him. I don’t need him. I don’t need. Don’t need.”

He repeated those words, and he paced, and he slept as the sun rose.

And when it set, he heard footsteps. Changmin. And with him…

Kyuhyun saw the man and stood, trembling. “Zhou Mi?”

“If you bite him, maybe you can head off the frenzy,” Changmin said.

Of course. Biting Zhou Mi was the only thing he’d wanted for weeks.

But the neck was wrong. It was a thin neck, not solid as Zhou Mi’s was. The curve was off. No mark at his shoulder. The face was wrong, blurring in his mind until the features resembled nothing like Zhou Mi.

“He’s only pretending!” Kyuhyun accused, reaching for the man’s neck until Changmin pushed him back.

“Kyuhyun. He’s human. You can feed from him even if he isn’t Zhou Mi.”

“But he’s not Zhou Mi.”

“Leave,” Changmin told the man, and turned back to Kyuhyun. “I know his feelings for you. What are yours?”

“I’m so hungry. He has a son now. No need for me.”

“You would have kept Zhou Mi?”

To keep. To own. To save. To bite.

Kyuhyun looked up at Changmin. “Where is he? He should be home by now. He loves me.”

Changmin looked so severe, that Kyuhyun worried. Perhaps Zhou Mi was ill again. Or— “He'd have stayed if you asked. Did I force you to this? Are you in love with him?”

In love with Zhou Mi.

“Where is he?” Kyuhyun repeated.

***

It was a piece of mail that sent Zhou Mi into action. That was what had him pounding on Kyuhyun’s door not long after the sun went down with a letter in his hand.

Kyuhyun’s staff was prompt, and there was still that moment of recognizing each other, the footman almost taking a step back to admit Zhou Mi, until he realized that Zhou Mi was no longer an immediate guest.

“Is Kyuhyun at home?”

The man paused. “He is. But he’s not seeing any visitors. Sir!”

“I got a letter on his letterhead informing me of vampire activities,” Zhou Mi said, hating that he had to all but force his way into the house. “But it was not in his handwriting, even though it was signed with his name. Where is he?”

Zhou Mi went to the library first, intent to see if he was being told the truth and Kyuhyun was at home. The letter was too strange, too odd an occurrence from a man who had not let even Zhou Mi touch his letterhead without his permission. Even then, Kyuhyun had always signed it himself.

Though he stopped, just past the doorway, when he saw Kyuhyun’s desk.

And Changmin sitting behind it.

“Were you invited in?” Changmin asked, his voice bland since he had to have heard the entire exchange.

“Where is Kyuhyun? Why— What’s going on? You wrote this letter?”

Something was terribly wrong, that was for certain. Scanning the room for signs that something was off yielded no clues, except for the obvious fact that Changmin was there, and Kyuhyun was not.

“Where Kyuhyun is is not your concern. And I did write that letter. No, I haven’t become Kyuhyun’s secretary, though I’ll let him do his own correspondence if it brings people irate to the door every time.”

“I’m not irate. I’m concerned. When a note arrives not in his handwriting, it is not too strange to wonder. I was told he was at home.”

“He is,” Changmin said. “But it is time for you to leave.”

“Not until you tell me what is wrong!”

“You do not belong here,” Changmin said, his voice very soft as he got close. Though if he’d intended to intimidate, he’d lost his ability after saving Zhou Mi’s life.

“I want to see Kyuhyun.”

“You can’t—“

Zhou Mi’s hand darted out, stopping Changmin’s words with a hand against his chest. He’d heard a shout, almost a bellow, like that of a man in pain. It had been quiet, not in the room, but close.

“What was that? Is that Kyuhyun?”

“You need to go.”

“I will not! Kyuhyun! Kyuhyun, answer me!” he shouted, pivoting back into the hall and down along the stairs. It had sounded like it had come from below them, not above.

But again, Changmin stopped him, yanking on his arm to the point of pain. “Stop. Stop this.”

“Was that Kyuhyun? It was. What aren’t you telling me? He’s a vampire. He doesn’t get ill.”

For a long moment, they glared at each other and Zhou Mi wondered if he would be able to find out more before Changmin and him forcibly thrown out. All of it was too strange, too frightening especially after all of his dreams of Kyuhyun dissolving in front of him. But Changmin’s scowl turned, and he looked away.

“He is ill. Follow me,” Changmin said, and led Zhou Mi to a barred door. “He is below us, locked in his basement until he recovers. It was not for you to know. It is not your concern.”

“Who is caring for him?” Zhou Mi asked, touching the door. He assumed Changmin, but then again, he could have been assuming very wrong.

“No one. It is not one of your human diseases where he must be coddled every moment. His illness will run its course.”

“But he is being fed.”

Changmin shook his head. “No. He will not feed until he recovers, either. It is a feeding disease. The Kyuhyun below is not the Kyuhyun you know. He’s in what we call a blood frenzy. He hasn’t eaten in weeks, and his body has to recover from it.”

Zhou Mi winced, pressing his hand against the boards as a ringing shriek sounded from below. “I don’t understand. Why he did not eat?”

“There is something very sacred among vampires. We call it ‘the stare of the soul.’ And Kyuhyun spent a month looking into yours.”

If Changmin had meant to enlighten him, he’d failed. Instead, he was even more confused.

“I don’t— Does he want to eat from me again?”

“You could say that. Or you could say, he won’t, can’t, eat from anyone else until his body has purged itself of your blood. He would have strangled a man I took down for him, had I not been there. Because he wasn’t you.”

Kyuhyun had not eaten since they had parted, was what Changmin seemed to be telling him. That was confusing enough, without the shouts from below. Every time the thought of Kyuhyun eating from someone else, taking someone else to his bed, Zhou Mi had put it from his mind with a flinch. It had not been a visual he had wanted.

“He is usually louder when he first wakes after the sun recedes. He will quiet soon. He would not want you to listen to him like this.”

Even if he could not hear it, did not mean he would not imagine it. Though the voice was without words, there was true pain in it. Zhou Mi could not even imagine the circumstances that had led Kyuhyun to that. To be locked in his own home, unable to eat. To have not eaten for weeks. It was worse than he could have imagined.

“If it is a feeding disease, is there something I can do? Perhaps he could feed from me. Bleed me, give him something.”

“I can’t let you go down. Are you even yet fully recovered from the Euphoria? There are things you don’t understand. Things I can’t tell you. If I let you down there, he could kill you. Maybe not with intent, but he could. If not with his teeth, then with his fists. Have you seen a ravenous dog on a carcass? You would fare no better. And he would sooner paint his body with blood if I sent it down in a vial. It’s not just your blood he wants.”

“My body? You said blood frenzy, not lust.”

Changmin shook his head.

“Then what! Tell me! Damn it, Changmin. I can’t make a decision if you’re being coy. What’s so horrible and secretive that he could do to me, if he did not kill me? Would he turn me into a vampire?”

“No,” Changmin scoffed.

“Will he recover if he doesn’t feed?”

“Of course. In a month or two.”

Zhou Mi pushed away from the door. “Then you can’t— I have to go down. If I can help him? You can’t stop—“

“I can stop you,” Changmin said, grabbing for Zhou Mi and gripping his collar. “You have no idea. If you go down there, you have no _choice_. He won’t ask you questions, and you can’t tell him no. He will recover with time. If you survive, you—“ And Changmin’s lips closed, biting off his words. “He would want you to have a choice. If you know anything about him, know that. I can’t.”

“You won’t. If I survive will it shorten my life?” And Changmin shook his head. “Would I be maimed, unable to survive on my own? Or would I recover and still able to work?”

“Most likely,” Changmin muttered. “But there is no guarantee. You have a son.”

Jinyong. If something happened to him, Jinyong would be alone.

“Kyuhyun would see that he was taken care of if I could not,” Zhou Mi said, and he could see he’d surprised Changmin. “In this, perhaps I know him better than you.”

“Perhaps you’re right. Especially if he believed your death was his fault,” Changmin said.

But those sorts of scare tactics could not phase him.

“Then the way I see it is that I have two choices,” Zhou Mi said, gripping Changmin’s arms and keeping him close. “I can choose to let him suffer, or I can choose to help. And it seems by what you say, me going down is dangerous to me, but it would help him. So you are giving me a choice. He is giving me a choice. And I choose _him._ ”

Changmin’s eyebrows rose. “No matter the risk? You don’t even care if you live to see revenge carried out on the men who hurt you, hurt Kyuhyun and Jinyong.”

“In spite of the risk. There are people out there, people Kyuhyun helped me organize, fighting Euphoria every day.” Zhou Mi closed his eyes as another pained shout echoed up. “How can I walk away from him? He is…”

Zhou Mi rapped a fist against his own chest in a crude approximation of his own feelings. The emptiness he’d felt knowing Kyuhyun would no longer want to see him. Not even to talk, much less to feed, or hold. Those were things Changmin had told Zhou Mi himself.

Changmin was shaking his head at Zhou Mi, as though he were the slowest, lowest creature to function on the earth. “Perhaps I should’ve left a bit of the thrall in you. Maybe it would have made you make a better decision.”

“It wouldn’t have mattered, unless Kyuhyun touched me.”

“I know. But maybe at least you’d have something to fear.”

Zhou Mi met Changmin’s eyes. “I do have something to fear. That he’s in pain. And that I can’t help.”

“Then you deserve each other.”

And it felt like a benediction.

***

Changmin stripped him of anything that could have been used to hurt him. Earrings that could be ripped from his ears, his glasses, his belt. All he had left were a thin pair of trousers, stripped even of his socks.

“If you think your life is in danger, call out for me. I’ll try to help. I doubt he will beat you, unless he is more delusional than I think. Your danger comes if he gluts himself. Too much blood, and there is nothing I can do to help you.”

“I understand. I’ll be cautious.”

But when he would have stepped forward, Changmin stopped him. “Promise me you understand. Promise me that no matter what happens, you will help him when he wakes. That you will make no rash decisions.”

Zhou Mi nodded. “I can promise you that.”

He would have promised almost anything if it got him to Kyuhyun quicker, but what Changmin asked him was not unusual. It did make him wonder what Changmin would expect, after Kyuhyun recovered. He’d half convinced himself that it was Changmin’s way of warning him not to accept another agreement with Kyuhyun, to not let Kyuhyun bite him again once he was safe.

Zhou Mi wasn’t sure he needed that warning. It was concern that had him standing until Changmin could unbar the door, and it was loyalty that had him grasping the wooden railing and padding down the stairs. He cared for Kyuhyun’s wellbeing, in the keening wails he’d heard from above. He heard mumbling, almost quiet chanting as he descended. His head dipped below ceiling level and he found Kyuhyun, crouched in a corner, rocking back and forth between walls with his eyes unfocused. But Zhou Mi kept his eyes on Kyuhyun, trying to see how he was. The room was illuminated, an electric light above their heads, and Zhou Mi was thankful for that. It would have been hard to imagine in the dark.

He’d nearly reached the bottom of the stairs when he jolted at a shout as Kyuhyun spotted him.

“Who is it? Who’s there?” Kyuhyun demanded, voice loud, almost frightened.

“It’s Zhou Mi,” he said, stepping out onto the hard packed dirt. “Kyuhyun, I’m here.”

***


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The streets of Zhou Mi's city are being contaminated with a new drug - Euphoria. Pure vampire blood, it causes a high unlike any other, but when the high fades, the nightmares begin. It is the spread of Euphoria that Zhou Mi fights, and in that fight he needs a partner to get him to places and people that only a vampire can.

***

Kyuhyun staggered toward the sound of his voice, gasping with every trip of his feet. It was almost as though he was blind, unsteady, and Zhou Mi’s heart lurched with every movement. The wild look on Kyuhyun’s face pained him. It was proof that the wild yells and shouts from above had truly been Kyuhyun. It was one thing to imagine that Kyuhyun was horribly ill and in pain, and another to see it. The Kyuhyun he knew tried to be so collected, a vampire in control of his surroundings. Protective. Kyuhyun wanted to be the one doing the protecting, not as he was. Perhaps it was foolhardy to do what he was doing, but no matter the warnings Changmin gave, he didn’t truly believe that Kyuhyun could be so far gone as to hurt him. Kyuhyun had taken such care to make sure that Zhou Mi _trusted_ him.

“Kyuhyun.”

“No. Get out!” Kyuhyun screamed, his nails scratching along the stone as though he wanted to rip one out and fling it. “You don’t belong here! Impostor!”

Zhou Mi froze, remembering Changmin’s warnings, remembering that Changmin had said Kyuhyun had tried to strangle someone, wasn’t in his right mind.

“Kyuhyun! It’s me! Zhou Mi,” he nearly shouted, so that Kyuhyun would understand. “You’re hungry, right? Let’s make another agreement.”

Kyuhyun stopped, silent and staring. His feet were filthy, as though he’d been walking the floor for hours. Days. He wore only simple trousers, much like those Zhou Mi had on, and they were dirty as well. There were smudges on his skin, on his face. He looked haggard, as though he hadn’t slept, gaunt as though he hadn’t— He hadn’t eaten, Zhou Mi knew that. For weeks, Changmin had said. Over a month, since the end of their agreement.

But when Kyuhyun spoke again, his voice was quieter, hoarse. “You. It can’t be you.”

“It is me. Zhou Mi. It’s me, Kyuhyun. You know me.”

Kyuhyun took an unsteady step toward him, and his voice was so soft, so full of wonder. “It is you.”

“Yes. It’s me. Come sit with me.”

It was not an arbitrary request because of the way that Kyuhyun was swaying, touching his neck and arms as though he were in distress. He held out his hands, beckoned Kyuhyun closer to the mattress. If he could sit them both before Kyuhyun just fell, he would be able to relax, just a little.

“Why haven’t you eaten, Kyuhyun?”

“I did. I did eat. Men, and women. So lovely. So much skin. Blood until I was drunk. You weren’t there. I can’t get drunk any more. It was… Where were you?”

The way Kyuhyun spoke started out lucid, words that had Zhou Mi’s stomach tightening. And then Kyuhyun sounded so confused, staring at the floor and touching his head like it hurt, or was muzzy. Kyuhyun kept saying “you” and Zhou Mi could only assume it was him Kyuhyun spoke of. Though if Kyuhyun hallucinated, he could have been speaking of anyone.

“I’m here. Come here, Kyuhyun. That’s it.”

Zhou Mi took a couple of steps back, to encourage him, and Kyuhyun tottered closer.

“A woman made me sick,” Kyuhyun said, looking straight into his eyes. “Did you see her? You were there. In the library.”

A woman. Zhou Mi only remembered ever seeing two women in Kyuhyun’s library. “Miss Choi? Sooyoung? Or Victoria?”

“No! They don’t have blood. She was— Flowers.”

Kyuhyun was making increasingly less sense, and his worry rose with it.

“Flowers? She made you sick?”

“No blood. Help me.”

Kyuhyun’s eyes closed, and he swayed, and Zhou Mi grabbed him, steadying him.

“I’m here to help you. Kyuhyun. Kyuhyun, look at me.”

And finally, Kyuhyun did, his dark eyes miserable and half focused. It seemed like Kyuhyun was taking him in, looking at his face, his neck. And Zhou Mi nearly jumped as Kyuhyun’s hand gripped his shoulder.

“This mark. This mark, he didn’t have it,” Kyuhyun babbled, staring at the mark Zhou Mi knew he had at the base of his neck.

“What?”

“The man. He was wrong. He didn’t have this mark like you do. It was a lie. Changmin lied. There wasn’t any blood.”

“No blood in the man?”

Kyuhyun shook his head, his hand squeezing tighter. “He didn’t have the mark. I couldn’t find you.”

“You know where I live. You could have sent for me.”

“I looked. I waited.”

Kyuhyun leaned into him and Zhou Mi had to brace himself to keep them from toppling over. Kyuhyun’s body was like a furnace, hotter than Zhou Mi had ever felt him, and he held Kyuhyun close. It wasn’t graceful, but Zhou Mi got them sitting, side by side on the mattress, with Kyuhyun half facing him, held against him.

“You even smell like him.”

“Like who, Kyuhyun?” Zhou Mi asked. Finally needing to know. If it was another man Kyuhyun was secretly hoping for, it would not change what he had come to Kyuhyun to do. He would not have stopped helping. He half wished he hadn’t asked, but Kyuhyun shook his head.

“Zhou Mi. Smoke. Sweat. Spice. Shirt smelled like him.”

“I am Zhou Mi.”

“Did I find you?”

“Yeah,” Zhou Mi said, petting Kyuhyun’s hair. “You found me.”

Kyuhyun pushed his face at Zhou Mi. Weak, fumbling kisses but Zhou Mi did not resist him. He steadied them, let Kyuhyun taste, until a groan rumbled through Kyuhyun.

“You taste like— The same. Zhou Mi.”

“Yes. You need to feed. You’ll feel better.” Zhou Mi kissed Kyuhyun’s neck, hoping maybe a demonstration would encourage Kyuhyun to try.

And steadying Kyuhyun’s head, he brought Kyuhyun’s face against his neck, letting Kyuhyun’s lips drag against his skin as he’d done so many times.

“Feed from me, Kyuhyun. My blood is waiting for you. They didn’t have blood but I do.”

“My blood,” Kyuhyun repeated against Zhou Mi’s neck.

“That’s right. It’s yours.”

It hurt, and he hadn’t expected that. Almost as though Kyuhyun was chewing at his neck, like a puppy at a bone. But as long as Kyuhyun fed, he could endure it. Maybe Kyuhyun could rest, then, clear his head.

Moment by moment, Kyuhyun squirmed over him, pressing him back almost as though he was claiming him. His to feed on. There was no arousal to dull the pain of the bite or of Kyuhyun’s nails digging into his arms. There was only worry, and the pounding of his heart in his chest. He wondered how he would react, if Kyuhyun took too much. If he was too dizzy to stand, he could crawl, if Kyuhyun did not hold him. Kyuhyun was, would always be, stronger. But he had some faith that Kyuhyun, even in the depths of his hunger, would be able to stop himself.

“Kyuhyun,” he crooned, rubbing Kyuhyun’s skin, trying to keep a connection. Trying in some way, he thought, to make sure that Kyuhyun remembered he was real.

Kyuhyun’s hand pushed down hard on his chest, and when his head lifted, his chin was smeared with blood.

“Mine.”

Zhou Mi didn’t struggle, stroking Kyuhyun’s arm with his fingers. “Yes. Yours. Did you feed enough?”

“I’ll have all of you,” Kyuhyun said.

It felt as though Kyuhyun were swearing it on his life. And Kyuhyun bit him. And again. He was not dizzy, did not falter, merely bided time. Teeth against his shoulders, the palm of his hand, his ankle.

Zhou Mi lost count, as Kyuhyun grasped at him, crying out in pain once, as nails dug into his skin, and Kyuhyun bit him again.

But he did not resist. His. Kyuhyun’s.

***

Kyuhyun woke slowly, the sun bright, and so warm on his skin. He closed his eyes tighter, turning into the warmth and trying to find his way back into sleep. There was a pounding, too, over it all. Someone calling his name. All he wanted was one afternoon nap—

He lifted his hand, feeling it come away, sticky, from the warmth he was lying against.

His eyes snapped open. Dark hair, fluttering under the light of the electric light lamp over their heads. Sticky. He stared at his hand, smeared with red, and the back it had been resting on with handprints all over it.

He tried to remember. The blood frenzy. Hearing the door open. Zhou Mi’s lifted hands. Zhou Mi’s moans.

“Oh. Fuck. No. Zhou Mi.”

The blood frenzy was dangerous. Humans had died, drained of too much because the vampire had been out of his or her mind with hunger.

Warmth. Zhou Mi’s skin had been warm.

He grasped Zhou Mi’s shoulder, turning him over and pulling his hand away as though even that touch would hurt him. There were spots scattered all over his skin, where Kyuhyun had bitten. Not to feed, but to mark that the human was his, his own. His blood, and no other’s. Most had closed, with only smears where Kyuhyun had touched and rubbed before the healing. The pounding came again, and Kyuhyun rose, taking a few unsteady strides before running for the stairs.

“Changmin! Get me a blanket!”

A pause. “Is it safe?”

“The frenzy has passed. Zhou Mi is alive, but— I don’t know how much blood I took.”

The door leading to the upper floor opened, and Changmin tossed a blanket down to him. They shared a look, only momentary, before Kyuhyun turned back to Zhou Mi. He was sprawled as though debauched, though Kyuhyun knew he had not had the wherewithal to initiate sex. It took some rolling, but he got Zhou Mi into the blanket. He was less concerned for himself, only needing to know Zhou Mi was covered, warm. And Kyuhyun lifted him, carrying him up the stairs and past Changmin. And then up to the second floor and to Kyuhyun’s room.

Zhou Mi had begun to moan by then, clearly beginning to wake.

“Don’t move,” Kyuhyun told him. “You’re fine. I’ll have you in bed in a moment.”

He had teased Zhou Mi once, that Zhou Mi liked taking care of him. If Kyuhyun were honest, he enjoyed looking after Zhou Mi as well. Looking after his needs, helping him, making him smile. And when the hardships weren’t caused by Kyuhyun, even better. It was guilt, then, as Changmin helped him to get Zhou Mi onto the bed. Zhou Mi’s head fell back onto the pillow, mouth open, moaning. There were multiple bites on his neck, red lip marks under his jaw and near his collarbone.

“It looks like you feasted well,” Changmin said. “I have them bringing up water for him to drink, broth and juice and bread. Anything you can get in him. His color is good.”

Kyuhyun felt for Zhou Mi’s wrist, and found his pulse steady, but quicker than he’d like. Perhaps from the fact that he was waking. He had to hope that. He left Zhou Mi’s side only long enough wet a cloth to wash Zhou Mi’s skin of his blood and Changmin had returned his supplies before he returned, slipping out again. Perhaps Kyuhyun would only clean his neck and chest and arms, but it would be something.

Zhou Mi blinked at him like a sleepy owl, as Kyuhyun began to wash his skin.

“You’re better,” Zhou Mi half whispered.

“Thanks to a good dose of your blood. How do you feel?”

Zhou Mi lifted a hand to his temple, the action slow and deliberate. “Like I might break my face on the stairs.”

“Then you won’t be seeing those stairs soon,” Kyuhyun assured him. “I have food, drink, here, if you can stomach it.”

“I think so,” Zhou Mi said, and accepted the cup of juice with both hands, cautious. “Why did you bring me here?”

To Kyuhyun’s bedroom. It had been instinct. Zhou Mi was—

Kyuhyun peeled down the blanket covering Zhou Mi’s chest, feeling under the two largest wounds for the barely raised lines there.

For the time being, anyway, Zhou Mi was under his care.

“I know you’ll be looked after here,” Kyuhyun said, and stood. “I’m going to dress. Stay there. Or call for me if you need help.”

“I”m glad you’re better,” Zhou Mi told him.

And Kyuhyun looked away. “Yes. Thank you.”

And then he walked away, and the physical distance felt like leaden anchors around his ankles and lovingly pressed over his shoulders. He washed Zhou Mi’s blood from his hands, from his skin, and wanted to crawl into his bed and cup Zhou Mi’s face between his hands and kiss him. Just kiss him, for minutes on end to assure himself he was all right, and that he was there, that his waking dreams had been real.

Zhou Mi was in a half stupor when Kyuhyun returned, the empty mug settled beside him. In vampire terms, he had been savaged badly. The wounds at his neck would take time to heal. Kyuhyun remembered Zhou Mi asking him once if a vampire could rip a human’s throat out. He’d come near enough it seemed, to causing damage that could have been fatal. Worst, he had nearly no memory of it. No memory of thinking that it was Zhou Mi he was harming. He could have woken, to find Zhou Mi cold.

Zhou Mi stirred, looking up at him. “The juice was good. I might eat…”

Zhou Mi devoured the fruit, the bread, the fish, as though he hadn’t eaten in years. He’d never seen Zhou Mi eat that voraciously, and was not surprised when he moaned, holding his stomach.

“Too fast?” Kyuhyun asked, amused.

Zhou Mi just grunted at him.

And Kyuhyun noticed something, something he had missed.

“I’ve never seen you without your earrings in since…”

Since the vampire den. He could see it startled Zhou Mi. “Oh, yes. It was for safety. They are part of me almost by now.”

Safety. So he would not have ripped them out. He hissed between his teeth, and put that aside, still standing very still, very straight.

“Why did you get them?”

“I suppose they remind me of where I came from, and who I am. They make me happy when I’m admiring myself in a mirror.”

Yes. There was something quite enticing about them. As were the bare curves of Zhou Mi’s ear.

“I’ll have them brought up to you,” Kyuhyun promised.

***

In the end, Kyuhyun had Zhou Mi’s earrings, his glasses, and what remained of his clothes both brought up, sending a servant to Zhou Mi’s home to fetch more. Zhou Mi had laughed that he would sleep away much of the day that was soon to dawn, and Kyuhyun thought so as well.

The one thing that Kyuhyun could not do was ask that Zhou Mi stay until he woke. He wondered if it was a tacit agreement, as he stripped himself from his trousers and shirt. Even with as much blood as he had taken, minus what they had ended up wearing, he did not feel quite himself.

“You need rest as well,” Changmin had told him in front of Zhou Mi, as though he was some recalcitrant child. When Kyuhyun had demanded answers of Changmin downstairs, how Zhou Mi had ended up in the basement with him, he’d gotten no answers.

And there had been no urging Kyuhyun to find a bed separate from Zhou Mi as he had expected.

Zhou Mi did not even stir as Kyuhyun arranged himself, too deeply asleep. It was so strange, too strange, to see Zhou Mi in his bed again. Zhou Mi had willingly gone into that basement with him, and let Kyuhyun bite him. It had weakened him, to the point he was at, resting and sleeping beside Kyuhyun in his bed.

The biggest question Kyuhyun had before he slept was: why?

***

When Kyuhyun woke, his bed was empty. He’d become so used to it, that he slid from that to half-panic, until he saw Zhou Mi sitting in a chair nearest the wall light. He read from a book, and looked up almost immediately as Kyuhyun sat up. There was maybe ten feet between them, but it felt like a gulf. A month ago, Zhou Mi would have belonged there. Right then, he did not know how to feel about Zhou Mi’s presence, or about what had happened that Zhou Mi was there.

“How are you feeling?”

“Better,” Zhou Mi said. “I ate more when I woke. It is not as bad as the first time you bit me.”

Good. That was good.

“You were still recovering from the Euphoria,” Kyuhyun said. “It’s a wonder you can walk.”

“I have been walking with some strength a week now after that ordeal,” Zhou Mi said, smiling slightly. “Two weeks in bed left me unsteady, but I would not let myself grow weaker.”

But he’d put himself in the path of a vampire who could have killed him, from bites that Kyuhyun had not been able to control.

“Your wounds are healing,” Kyuhyun said, leaning forward so he could get a better look at the bite marks on Zhou Mi’s neck. What had been angry the night before were faint pink spots. It sent an uncomfortable lurch through Kyuhyun’s stomach.

“Yes,” Zhou Mi said, lifting a hand to touch that same place. “When I woke a few hours ago, the scabs were already coming off. It seemed like they were a lot worse than that before I slept.”

“Yes,” Kyuhyun said, swallowing hard. To take his mind from it, he switched to a topic still plaguing him. “How did you— What brought you here last night?”

“I received a letter from Changmin, on the hunt for another Euphoria storehouse. On your letterhead.”

It hadn’t sounded incriminating, up until the last.

“He made no mention of me?” Kyuhyun asked.

“No mention of you.” Zhou Mi shrugged, adjusting the book in his lap. “I found it odd, so I decided to check. And when I did, I— I confess I barged into your home to see what was wrong. And I heard you shouting.”

Changmin had promised him he would not call for Zhou Mi, and he had not. At least, he had not directly. Kyuhyun’s throat tightened as his thoughts ran wild.

“And Changmin politely showed you down to me?” Kyuhyun asked, and the edge in his voice only grew sharper as Zhou Mi’s lips began to curve. “I could have easily killed you. Did he make no mention of that?”

“No, that he explained in great detail,” Zhou Mi said, and rose. It took only several deliberate steps before Zhou Mi was sat on the edge of the bed, near Kyuhyun’s knees, and met Kyuhyun’s eyes. “He did not explain how you had had gotten to be in that situation. Not enough to satisfy me, anyway. He said you had not eaten.”

“Of course he didn’t explain,” Kyuhyun said, and paused before deciding against divulging more information at least on why he hadn’t eaten. “When a vampire does not feed after biting a human for a number of weeks, a process takes place. They are locked up, to keep from hurting others. Their whole body is moved to crave nothing else but the blood of the human they ate from last. Their body, their blood, their presence.”

“Is it painful?”

“It felt like being asleep. Waiting. Anger when— The wrong human appeared. I do not remember much. Changmin should have told you.”

“It wouldn’t have mattered. I would have wanted to help you. You sounded in such pain. To think of you undergoing another month of that? I couldn’t allow it.”

Kyuhyun’s eyebrows rose. “A month? In the blood frenzy?”

“That is what Changmin said.”

“I would have been in the fog of it a week more, perhaps. You were…misled.”

“I thought he was trying to talk me out of helping you,” Zhou Mi said, and then stopped. “He was trying to make sure I would.”

Yes, Kyuhyun was far beyond suspecting that himself. Changmin had not sent for Zhou Mi, but he had lured him, and he had let Zhou Mi down into a situation without knowing everything, without any promises. Zhou Mi would have thought he was helping. Just helping.

“Then we’ve been played,” Kyuhyun said. “Because he promised me he would not send for you.”

“Why?”

“I could have _hurt_ you.”

Zhou Mi shook his head as though he wasn’t even slightly concerned about that, and still he pressed on like his mind was struggling to understand it all.

“This is what Changmin was trying to warn you from the whole of the time we were together. I see now what danger it was to you,” Zhou Mi said. And as Kyuhyun watched, he raised a hand to his shoulder. That place. “I meant to ask you about this wound. It is raised, not healing like the others.”

Zhou Mi’s conclusions were close, but not exactly right. But the wound, yes. He was afraid Zhou Mi would notice. Afraid, hopeful, he wasn’t sure which. He licked his lips, wondering how to say the most frightening part of the blood frenzy, what he had not been able to explain before.

“They are teeth. My blood teeth.”

The way Zhou Mi’s hand had stilled over the wound, Kyuhyun could see that he had startled him.

“You left your teeth in me?”

“A set, yes. I have another. A vampire begins to grow another set of teeth, when the frenzy—” And Kyuhyun blew out a breath. There was more, but he could not say it. “A skilled surgeon will be able to remove them from you.”

“What purpose could leaving your teeth in me serve? Why grow another set? You aren’t surprised, so there must be a reason.” Zhou Mi’s eyes widened. “Is that why my wounds are healing so quickly? This is not the path to being a vampire? You didn’t turn me?”

“Don’t be absurd,” Kyuhyun barked. “I would have to have killed you for that. The teeth are…”

Everything. Everything he couldn’t have, he thought as, he took in Zhou Mi’s worried face.

“Are what?” Zhou Mi prompted.

But Kyuhyun turned back into his pillow. “I don’t feel well.”

“Do you need to feed?”

That Zhou Mi would offer had hysterical laughter tickling Kyuhyun’s throat.

“I don’t think that’s wise. You’ll be leaving soon.”

It was barely above a whisper, and he pressed his face harder down.

“Will you tell me more, when you’ve rested?” Zhou Mi asked.

“We weren’t supposed to see each other again.”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

Zhou Mi apologized, but Kyuhyun knew he did not regret helping Kyuhyun. But there was a truth that Zhou Mi didn’t know.

“Find a surgeon to remove the teeth. Go back to saving your humans.”

Zhou Mi patted Kyuhyun’s leg. “I hope you recover soon. Goodbye, Kyuhyun.”

Kyuhyun sat frozen, staring at the closed door. He knew he had not been meant to have many chances in life with humans. So many of them had been to feed from only. Others, physical gratification. Zhou Mi had been both those things, but not only. He’d had his one chance, taken the risk to keep Zhou Mi near, and pushed him to leave when their month was up. He could have kept Zhou Mi, no matter what Changmin had warned. He thought Zhou Mi would have stayed. No, he knew he would have.

He didn’t know why he rested on his bed instead of taking Zhou Mi’s hands and begging him not to go, not to do as Kyuhyun suggested, but to take a chance on him.

For Kyuhyun, there were no chances left.

***

Downstairs, Zhou Mi planted himself in front of Changmin.

“What is the meaning of the blood teeth that Kyuhyun left in me?”

Changmin would not meet his eyes. “I can’t tell you that.”

“Won’t,” Zhou Mi said, grabbing Changmin’s arm. “I didn’t press Kyuhyun because he is still weak, but you I have no compunction against demanding answers from.”

“Kyuhyun wouldn’t tell you?”

“He told me to have them removed.”

There was something that flared in Changmin’s eyes, something like fear, that made Zhou Mi knew that he would get his answers. He just wasn’t sure what answers those would be, or why Changmin reacted as he had.

“No, I won’t remove them,” Zhou Mi assured him. “Not until I know what they are, and why they are. I thought that you were afraid of Kyuhyun entering the blood frenzy, but this..?”

“Do you remember what I asked you to promise?”

Zhou Mi tried to recall. He’d been so full of anxiety that it was amazing to him that he remembered anything at all.

“To help him? Not to do anything rash?”

“Not to make rash decisions, as it seems that Kyuhyun is trying to force you to.”

“Then give me answers.”

Changmin’s eyes closed. “It is his place to tell you. It was his place _before_ the frenzy to tell you what you needed to know, so you could decide for yourself. But it was also his decision to make. I violated that by letting you go down without knowing the full truth. So yes, I will give you your answers.”

Zhou Mi nearly sagged in relief. “Please.”

“The blood frenzy is usually a deliberate act, a calculated denial to force the desperation and bind a - usually willing - human to them.”

“Bind a human,” Zhou Mi said slowly, each word deliberate. “I don’t understand.”

“Having the teeth in a human’s flesh is only useful for one purpose. As they are, Kyuhyun could feed from you nearly indefinitely, and not hurt you. The longer the teeth are in you, the more you will become the perfect source of blood.”

“Can Kyuhyun only eat from me?”

Changmin scoffed. “Don’t be silly. But… You would taste unique to him. Desirable.”

“What about when I die?”

“What?”

“If I am a source of blood for him, what about when I grew old and died?”

Changmin stared at him, and Zhou Mi wondered if the room was growing smaller around them.

“You would not. The teeth along in conjunction with Kyuhyun’s bite would prevent you from aging, from falling ill. If you were a normal human, they would protect you from the thrall as well.”

Zhou Mi’s inhale was harsh as he touched the wound on his shoulder again. “Then this isn’t… This isn’t just to create a perfect meal. This is… The bite of a life partner. The equivalent of a wedding ring.”

“To put it crudely. Those are all things a vampire and his chosen human acknowledge. There is inherent risk in the blood frenzy - putting a human of some regard in danger, in order to—”

“Keep them,” Zhou Mi said softly.

“Yes.”

“Why didn’t you tell me this before I went down? Why hide that from me?”

“You did not see Kyuhyun as he was before he went into the basement,” Changmin said, turning toward the window. “In his delirium, he nearly took to the streets to look for you. When he tried to strangle a man in the basement, it was because that man wasn’t you.”

Some of Kyuhyun’s ramblings started to make sense. The man hadn’t been him, hadn’t been the right blood.

“You did everything you could to make sure he didn’t enter the frenzy,” Zhou Mi said.

“Yes. What bound him to you was stronger than my warnings, or my attempts to save him.”

“Then the lasting effects for me are some sort of immortality. At least I won’t die in a day. But that seems a small thing to be so grave about.”

“A vampire has one chance,” Changmin said. “The blood frenzy might be gone into many times, but once the blood teeth are placed in a human, there is no taking them back. No one does it lightly. When we are children, we have one set of teeth, and lose them to gain a stronger set. With a vampire, it’s the same. But once those teeth are given, there is no taking them back.”

The rush of words seemed like it drained Changmin, and Zhou Mi leaned back harder on his hands, grateful for the pain of the desk edge against them.

“Then I took away his— I took away his chance of finding— How could you do that to him?”

“Use your brain,” Changmin retorted. “I did nothing to him or to you that I thought he didn’t want.”

“But you warned me from him the entire time we were together. Warned him!”

“Yes. And despite those warnings, despite those urgings, and cajoling him to eat, he ended up in that cellar. I did not warn you from him because I did not want him in the frenzy, nor was I opposed to him giving you the teeth. I did not object to you,” Changmin said, staggering Zhou Mi. “But he had only one chance to use wisely. If you would not leave him, if he would not turn from you, then the choice was good. You were willing to risk your life to save him. And he wanted no one but you.”

“But still he told me to go. To remove the teeth.”

“He’s weak, like you said. He might not think that you would stay.”

So he was pushing Zhou Mi away. A silly thing to do. A very human thing to do.

“I will keep the teeth in me, until he decides under better circumstances,” Zhou Mi said. “Or will that take away my choice as well? Are there other secrets you’re leaving out?”

“No. The teeth are impermanent, yours to remove at will. That is the truth.”

“If he rejects me anyway?”

Changmin smiled. “Then you may live long enough to see his mind changed.”

***

“You promised me!”

Changmin didn’t even have the wherewithal to look ashamed at Kyuhyun’s accusation when Kyuhyun stormed into the library. He wasn’t sure if Changmin had stayed there all along or if Kyuhyun had just had good timing, but it was obvious Changmin had been waiting for him.

“I did not send for him,” Changmin said, like he’d had the argument kept in his pocket. And he had no right, no fucking right to pretend that he’d acted as Kyuhyun had wanted.

“That’s bullshit, and you know it.” Oh, he hated the desperate edge on his voice, like he was scolding but had no conviction behind it. He was right to feel angry, right to feel betrayed. It should have been his choice. He should’ve been the one to call for Zhou Mi, to give Zhou Mi the chance to choose him.

”Why did you send him away?”

Kyuhyun shook his head. Too many reasons crowding around in his head. Sometimes he wasn’t even sure himself. “He should not have gone into the cellar with me. He had no idea what he was doing.”

Some of the uncertainty on Changmin’s face smoothed. “No, he knew. You didn’t see him. He would have done anything to save you.”

“You took that choice from me! From _me_. I should have been the one to ask you to call for him.”

“You were sick with love for him,” Changmin countered, and Kyuhyun recoiled.. “Yes. You were, and are. And you did ask me to bring him. Dozens of times.”

“I was out of my mind with hunger,” Kyuhyun said, and slammed down his fist. And it felt like rebellion. “I told him to have the teeth removed.”

Changmin grunted, his eyebrows drawn down. “It was not hunger. He was your choice. Send for him, before he does what you suggested. It does not take a smart man to see that you did not want him to go.”

“Are you calling him stupid?”

The way Changmin rolled his eyes it was clearly not just Zhou Mi he was maligning.

“You both are worthy of each other.”

Kyuhyun scowled, and Changmin did little more than retrieve his hat and go, leaving Kyuhyun to take his place behind his desk and brood.

***

Zhou Mi paused outside of Kyuhyun’s bedroom door. He’d taken a day to compose himself, to recover. The marks on his skin had faded, and he felt stronger than he had since before the Euphoria. He’d had so much to think about after Changmin had finally given him information. He gone home in disbelief, anger. He’d felt tricked, manipulated, and betrayed. But an hour of pacing had done him good. If Kyuhyun had not wanted him in that cellar, then perhaps he felt betrayed as well, and afraid because of Zhou Mi’s ignorance of it. By Changmin’s own words, he’d allowed Zhou Mi down because he believed it had been what Kyuhyun would want. Kyuhyun had spent over a month starving himself, not eating from any other human.

There had to have been a reason for that. Sometimes the things in life that were most wanted were the hardest to reach for. He could say, in the way that Kyuhyun had reacted to him in the cellar, that it had been frenzy talking. Kyuhyun had waited for him.

There was only one way that Zhou Mi knew to assuage the fear in him. If Kyuhyun would not answer his words, there would be only one other choice.

So he pushed into the room, watching Kyuhyun sit up in his bed.

“Why are you here?”

“Because I still have questions,” Zhou Mi said, and made sure the room was awash in light. He wanted no shadows, wanted to see Kyuhyun’s face. “I spoke to Changmin before I left yesterday, and he said you needed time. I hoped a day’s sleep would have sufficed.”

“I have nothing more to tell you.”

Zhou Mi stopped at the foot of the bed, and was gratified as Kyuhyun rose to face him. At least he would not be dismissed.

“No? Tell me why you went into the frenzy. Why you didn’t eat from other humans when you knew you would be drawn into this.”

“I _couldn’t_ ,” Kyuhyun retorted, stepping closer. “I don’t get ill like humans do, but it made me ill when humans were brought to me. It was a sickness I could not cure myself of.”

Because every time he had tried to feed, he had seen Zhou Mi’s face. And then heard Zhou Mi telling him that he loved him. He wasn’t sure how he could have hungered with that in his mind.

“And the teeth?” Zhou Mi opened his necktie, began to undo the buttons down his chest. “You put them in me.”

“They were meant for someone who wanted them.,” Kyuhyun said, and then stared at Zhou Mi’s shoulder, the bandaging padded there. “You had the teeth removed.”

Someone who wanted them. If Zhou Mi had known, there would have been no one who wanted them more than he dd. But he wanted then to know if it had been Kyuhyun’s desire to give them.

“You told me to,” Zhou Mi told him, and he watched carefully. Watched, as though Kyuhyun’s reaction would be hard to see.

But it was not. Kyuhyun’s head turned to the side as though he’d been struck, mouth opening to let out a stunned exhale. And that lower lip trembled as Kyuhyun struggled to take in air, shoving out at Zhou Mi as though he were keeping him from breathing.

“Kyuhyun. Kyuhyun.”

“No. Go. Go! You don’t belong…here.”

Kyuhyun’s voice nearly cracked on the word, his back turned to Zhou Mi, and Zhou Mi lunged, catching Kyuhyun’s arm before he could walk away, lock himself in the dressing room.

“No. Kyuhyun, look,” Zhou Mi demanded. With his free hand, he reached into his shirt and tore away the thick bandages. And he pressed Kyuhyun’s palm there, so he could feel where under Zhou Mi’s skin the teeth still were.

Kyuhyun was panting, staring at Zhou Mi’s chest. “What?”

“I needed to know.”

If Kyuhyun had wanted him there, if he’d wanted to bite him, to keep him. He could almost see the thoughts racing through Kyuhyun’s head. What Zhou Mi meant by the teeth still being in him, why he was there.

But when Zhou Mi leaned closer, it seemed like that was all the catalyst Kyuhyun needed. He reached for Zhou Mi’s ribs with a sound of desperation, and Zhou Mi followed, always followed. Where Kyuhyun was, Zhou Mi met him. He wasn’t sure which of them were holding on tighter, worming arms closer, pressing until body met body and there was nothing between them. Breathing into each other’s necks, incredulous laughter and clutching fingers.

“I’m sorry,” he said, just breathing Kyuhyun in. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know if you wanted me here.”

“I bit you. I put my teeth in you. How could you have doubted?”

“But did you want to? You sent me away.”

“It didn’t matter what I wanted,” Kyuhyun said, and nearly shook as he spoke. “You had no fathoming what that bite meant. It was nothing to you.”

“I might not have gone down to you if I had known it was your only chance.” When Kyuhyun stiffened, Zhou Mi held him tighter. “Yes. Changmin told me that you can’t choose another now.”

“If I’d asked you, if you’d known…?”

Zhou Mi knew what Kyuhyun was asking, and it tore through him. Kyuhyun hadn’t had Changmin send for him when he’d fallen ill. Kyuhyun had told him to have the teeth removed without telling him what they meant. If either of those had gone as planned, they wouldn’t have been standing together.

“I would have gladly come to you. After Changmin told me, I thought you felt you had chosen unwisely, that I’d stolen your chance of finding a human more to your liking.”

“No. Yes. No,” Kyuhyun corrected himself. “There wouldn’t have been another. You were irresistible to me from the moment I met you. That you resisted the thrall only added to it, because I could not reason away your reactions to me.”

To hear the words was different than knowing them. There were so many varied needs that Kyuhyun implied, body, mind, heart. Everything he had said, everything he had done, would have read true to Kyuhyun, and Zhou Mi realized perhaps he should’ve been more aware of that as well - how bare and obvious his reactions had been. They had been open to each other, unaware of it in their fascination with each other. And yet still, if Kyuhyun had known, then he had not chosen Zhou Mi. It still worried him.

“Why didn’t you send for me? What were you so afraid of?” Zhou Mi asked him.

***

Kyuhyun’s head reared back, staring at Zhou Mi in disbelief.

“You are the most _peculiar_ human,” Kyuhyun said.

Zhou Mi’s laugh shook them both. “You are holding me like I might disappear. You were pushing me away. Except… By not feeding from someone else, you were holding me then, too. I just didn’t know it. Were you afraid I would leave or stay?”

“I held myself apart for so long, so careful not to get too close. Humans are so…fleeting. The blood frenzy’s main purpose is to remove all of the barriers of the thrall. To create an equal, an other.”

“The stare of the soul,” Zhou Mi murmured.

“Changmin was very loose lipped with you. Yes.” The swallow was nearly painful, as Kyuhyun closed his eyes. “I thought all hope was lost—“

Kyuhyun’s words died out, as the tip of Zhou Mi’s nose brushed his, beside his, as he nuzzled against the touch. Moments later, their foreheads met, almost a thud at Zhou Mi’s silent laugh. He could feel, smell, touch, all of Zhou Mi.

“You said you loved me,” Kyuhyun said, his voice so terribly soft. “I’d convinced myself it was only the thrall or the Euphoria.”

“The thrall can’t induce feelings. You know that. I missed you.”

It nearly made him shiver, those words on Zhou Mi’s voice, soft and so full of truth. “My bed was cold.”

“And Jinyong?”

Yes, Zhou Mi would need to be sure of that. To that, Kyuhyun had only one answer, because he had pondered it himself in knowing what he would lose if Zhou Mi had the teeth removed. He’d have lost a chance at something greater than either of them.

“Where you are, there is always a place for him.”

“Kyuhyun.” Zhou Mi’s thumbs stroked his skin. “And where you are?”

Perhaps Zhou Mi needed to hear it. Perhaps they were words that needed to be said, so that Zhou Mi would not question his place, question that Kyuhyun had wanted him close and had for so much longer than Kyuhyun could admit. Zhou Mi was right, that he’d been afraid. Instead of grasping what was in front of him, Zhou Mi’s warmth, he’d very nearly lost it.

“Where I am, there is need for you,” Kyuhyun said.

His bed had been cold, and so much more than that. Body. Stomach. He wanted to reach up, pet down Zhou Mi’s hair and feel the smooth transition between it and his warm skin. How many times he’d done that, while feeding. His eyes closed, basking as Zhou Mi pressed kisses against his cheek. He let Zhou Mi draw back his arm, one hand cradled in Zhou Mi’s, while Zhou Mi’s free hand traced the veins of Kyuhyun’s arm.

“You are me. I said that once before,” Zhou Mi said. “You are me. And you are mine.”

That was it exactly. “Yes. I bite from only one human at a time.”

“You may not be the only vampire I’ve been bitten by any longer, but I don’t want another.”

Kyuhyun exhaled. “You will never need another.”

And it was a promise, and a truth he saw in the agreement in Zhou Mi’s eyes.

***

Zhou Mi was a touch thinner, still recovering from the Euphoria, but he was so solid under Kyuhyun’s hands. When Zhou Mi offered, Kyuhyun kissed him, flushing with warmth at Zhou Mi’s hand against his neck and the one that squirmed up under his shirt. What he had missed, there had been too many things, waiting for Zhou Mi, talking to him. Knowing that the house he existed in was Zhou Mi’s home. They were both worse for the wear for their trials, and he sighed as Zhou Mi peeled back his shirt and kissed across the tops of both shoulders.

“Where have you been,” he teased, and Zhou Mi’s eyes were smiling.

“Waiting to return to you,” Zhou Mi said. “Do you know, I dreamed of you under the Euphoria. When I dreamed of no one else, I dreamed of you. Of losing you.”

“If anyone dares touch you again—“ And Kyuhyun hissed, stripping the shirt from Zhou Mi’s arms. “You weren’t— _were_ mine when you were dosed with my blood. If I’d have found them, I don’t think I could have stopped myself from killing them.”

“Perhaps that’s why they label it, for— No, that’s enough of that for now. I love you,” Zhou Mi said, and it was the first time Zhou Mi had said it without the thrall between them.

“I chose you,” Kyuhyun said, running his hands down Zhou Mi’s sides.

Maybe he hadn’t been the one to sit in his library and hold Zhou Mi’s hand and explain to him the dangers, the joys, the frenzy could bring to them. The benefits, perhaps, to Zhou Mi’s life. Maybe he hadn’t taken Zhou Mi’s arm and led him into that cellar to show him where Kyuhyun would wait for him. But Zhou Mi had been right because no matter if he had done those things or not, he had been holding Zhou Mi close.

Maybe it was proof that no matter how it had begun, that they had still found their way together.

And the time for words was done, instead sating himself with the warmth of Zhou Mi’s lips. He wanted nothing in the way, no cloth, no air, nothing to dissuade him from the fact that he was not dreaming. It was no hallucination he pushed onto his bed, delighted at the grin on Zhou Mi’s face and the invitation of his outstretched hands and his body both. A month, six months, it didn’t matter because Zhou Mi’s body was still so well known to him. He’d memorized the tender spots, the way to stroke to get a sigh, how to kiss to make Zhou Mi moan for him.

So warm, so hard in Kyuhyun’s hand, so giving as Kyuhyun pressed into him.

“More,” Zhou Mi urged him, and Kyuhyun felt the groan beneath his hands as he rocked his hips. He wanted his satisfaction right then, and he wanted it to last for hours.

“Smile for me,” Kyuhyun urged, as he had when Zhou Mi was under the Euphoria’s power.

But it was different, then, the way that Zhou Mi’s face changed, brilliant and for Kyuhyun alone. That was the man he had needed, in control of himself and so knowing. And Zhou Mi searched his face, cupping Kyuhyun’s neck with one hand as he stroked Kyuhyun’s back.

“Will you feed from me?” Zhou Mi asked, voice husky with the question and chin tipping ever so slightly.

He wanted words then and had none, caught in burgeoning pleasure and swamping delight at the question, the offer, the knowing that Zhou Mi was his.

Kyuhyun inhaled against Zhou Mi’s neck, feeling Zhou Mi’s fingers slip into his hair. And when he bit, Zhou Mi held him there, his hips lifting to meet Kyuhyun’s as he moaned and stroked and needed.

He came with a gasp, pressed deep in Zhou Mi’s body and full of Zhou Mi’s taste. His blood, his man. He moaned and fed, and felt Zhou Mi stroking himself even as he clutched Kyuhyun tight.

“Kyuhyun!” Zhou Mi gasped, and Kyuhyun growled into his neck. He felt Zhou Mi’s moans against his lips, against his tongue, felt Zhou MI come beneath him. He was filled with Zhou Mi’s warmth, Zhou Mi’s blood, Zhou Mi’s unevenly closed eyes as they smiled together, kissed.

And Zhou Mi tasted the blood on his lips and did not turn from him, kissing him again after Kyuhyun rose to turn down most of the lights.

It was easier to talk in the shadows and the quiet, the warmth of Zhou Mi’s neck against his face a comfort. It was something he could have never had again, the scent of Zhou Mi’s sweat and the heavy security of Zhou Mi’s arm around him. Zhou Mi wasn’t asleep, though perhaps drifting with his hand rubbing against Kyuhyun’s side. As his mind wandered, he was tracing patterns on Zhou Mi’s shoulder of no particular origin. He had so many things to say, to ask. It would have taken another hundred years to untangle all of them. He had nearly lost the will to feel anything, leaping beyond the shock of Changmin’s betrayal and Zhou Mi’s lack of understanding. Some of those paled to Zhou Mi being there.

“Now you know what vampires are urged to be cautious of,” Kyuhyun murmured. “Because there are no second chances.”

Zhou Mi hesitated. “Attachment?”

There was that, but it was not it entirely.

“Falling in love. Or perhaps lust. Some conflation of the two that ends in…this. Changmin said I was sick with love by the end, and he was right. Changmin was protecting me when we met. Making sure I would be sure of my choice.”

Zhou Mi nodded, his breath ruffling Kyuhyun’s hair. “Changmin told me almost the same, that he hadn’t objected to me personally. That made me glad.”

Kyuhyun chuckled. It would have. “I wish I could blame him for me pushing you away. But that was all of my own doing.”

It nearly rankled that to confess it would sooth some of the negative feelings between Zhou Mi and Changmin. They would be knowing each other for more years than either had anticipated, but Kyuhyun was going to hang onto at least some of his righteous anger for a while. Changmin deserved it.

“Would it have helped if I had fought back?” Zhou Mi wondered.

He wished he knew, truly. Maybe they could’ve avoided most of the upheaval, the uncertainty. But to get to where they were, there had been no way to avoid the blood frenzy. It was not something he would have wished back.

“I don’t know. But we would have ended up in this place, one way or the other. The teeth…” Kyuhyun inhaled. Another confession. “There is a price to those blood teeth, as well. You would watch people you love grow old and die, and you would watch your child die, to stay at my side. And one day, you might tire of me, and find that the world you once knew is no longer.”

“But the teeth could be removed then, and my life would spend itself as usual?”

“Yes,” Kyuhyun said.

Zhou Mi was very still beside him, considering it. It nearly caught the breath from him, waiting, with Zhou Mi’s fingers restless against his skin. To even think of Zhou Mi’s life winding away, watching Zhou Mi slip from his grasp moment by moment put the slick edge of anxiety over his stomach. He actually turned, feeling for the blood teeth to assure himself that they were there, and that was when he realized that Zhou Mi was smiling.

“You would have taken nothing from me if I chose that one day. It isn’t as though you will lock me in your room, only to emerge to an unfamiliar time. I would see it all pass, and learn with it. And you know, you might tire of me as well.”

“You think I won’t lock you up,” Kyuhyun joked, cupping Zhou Mi’s neck and lifting his head so that he could smile at Zhou Mi as well. “But that is true.”

“And I would be with you. I could still help people.”

He said both of those things as though they made him equally happy, and Kyuhyun wondered at the shiver that teased his spine.

“I think the world would be a little bit happier to have you in it.”

Zhou Mi’s eyebrows rose. “Oh really?”

“Not my world.” And Kyuhyun paused. “Maybe a little.”

Zhou Mi’s lips curved, and it was Kyuhyun’s pleasure to kiss them, feeling Zhou Mi’s warmth wrap around him. It wasn’t like the month and some weeks apart that stretched out behind them hadn’t happened, but more it had driven them even closer. That closeness was not taken for granted - savored, like the warmth against him, the stroke of Zhou Mi’s hands.

And they both startled, jerking against each other as a knock sounded on the door.

“Sir, Mr. Shim is here,” a quiet voice said.

Kyuhyun groaned, feeling Zhou Mi laugh against his neck.

“Wait here,” Kyuhyun said, and Zhou Mi waggled his fingers after him, grinning still as Kyuhyun shrugged into his dressing gown.

But Kyuhyun went only as far as the edge of the stairs, glaring down at Changmin who was looking up from the entrance below.

“Do you have pressing business?” Kyuhyun demanded.

“None of note,” Changmin asked. “How do you fare?”

“Better. And better still if I see your back leaving his house. I have time to make up with Zhou Mi.”

It got him a grin from Changmin, as he’d expected and a raised hand in salute. If Changmin had wanted proof Kyuhyun had come to his senses and kept Zhou Mi where he belonged, then he should’ve sent a note. Still, Kyuhyun waved and turned back, shedding the cloth as soon as he closed the door behind him. He hissed at Zhou Mi’s low whistle, and the chuckle at Kyuhyun’s expression.

“He didn’t need anything?”

“Just to be sure I had you naked and willing,” Kyuhyun said.

Very willing, as Zhou Mi stretched out his arm and welcomed Kyuhyun back into the bed.

***

They had given each other two nights to prepare before leaving. Zhou Mi had received a letter from Victoria, and believed her when she said that Jinyong would be ready to return as soon as Zhou Mi was willing. Kyuhyun knew that Zhou Mi was more than willing, wanting to see that ready smile and assure himself of Jinyong’s wellbeing, physically and emotionally. They had something shared between them, that experience with Euphoria. Kyuhyun didn’t think that Zhou Mi would tell Jinyong of the most terrifying images he had seen, but perhaps it would help Jinyong to speak of some of his, to purge them. It suited neither of them to leave Jinyong to fear on his own. And hearing Zhou Mi speak haltingly of some of the nightmares had been enough to put Kyuhyun’s own nerves on edge.

“You think it’ll be safe?” Kyuhyun asked, half reclining on the stuffed couch in the library.

“It will be,” Zhou Mi said and believed it. He nudged Kyuhyun over so he could have his own place, and Kyuhyun was satisfied to lean back into him. “He’ll be well looked after, and I won’t be raiding any storehouses. I’ll work for the sanitarium to gain funds, and help in other ways without putting myself in danger.”

It was all a danger, and they both knew that, but it was something at least. Kyuhyun refused to be afraid every time that Zhou Mi left the house because Zhou Mi knew how to look after himself. Knew more, even, after the attack. Kyuhyun had bought Zhou Mi a blade to secret in case, and It pleased him to know that Zhou Mi wore it.

“No more falling in with some dangerous vampire, huh.”

“Only one,” Zhou Mi teased. “And now, at least I know you won’t be unhappy if I talk to other vampires.”

It seemed his sniff was audible in the way that Zhou Mi laughed and cuddled him. No, he did not fear Zhou Mi with other vampires. But there was one matter that he had very definite opinions on.

“Whether I am at your home, or you here, I would prefer not to be apart.”

“I want that, too,” Zhou Mi said, stroking Kyuhyun’s collar. “I will have to show you my home once. I do not keep much staff. I never have. There is only one maid and a footman, and a man for the stable. I am comfortable here. In truth, if my belongings and I am here, I can open my house for those in advanced recovery from Euphoria. Another step toward normalcy.”

Of course. Zhou Mi would open his home. “Bring anything you wish. I’ll build more bookshelves. Another closet. Maybe I’ll buy a bigger bathtub.”

That was said with a finger poking into Zhou Mi’s stomach, eliciting a squirm and chuckle.

“I’d like that. The bathtub.”

“For the others… We’ll see. While we’re gone, you can have your belongings moved.”

“And you’re sure?” Zhou Mi asked softly, petting in front of Kyuhyun’s ear. “We don’t have to rush that, if you would wait.”

“I’ve waited a month too long already. And if your things are here, it’ll be harder for you to leave without me talking you out of it.”

Zhou Mi laughed and laughed, his whole body shaking against Kyuhyun’s. “Yes, that’s true.”

“And I will be able to help you in your vampire endeavors when I can.”

The sobering effect was instantaneous, Zhou Mi’s voice very firm. “Not that I would turn away your help, but my wanting to stay with you doesn’t hinge upon that.”

“Our agreement was that as long as I bit you, I would help, wasn’t it?”

Zhou Mi frowned at him, face so clearly defined in the shadows. “Yes. But—“

“I will be biting you for a very _long_ time.”

He could feel Zhou Mi smiling against his lips, and he sealed that promise.

***


	11. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The streets of Zhou Mi's city are being contaminated with a new drug - Euphoria. Pure vampire blood, it causes a high unlike any other, but when the high fades, the nightmares begin. It is the spread of Euphoria that Zhou Mi fights, and in that fight he needs a partner to get him to places and people that only a vampire can.

***

Changmin was waiting for Zhou Mi outside of the Choi residence when Zhou Mi climbed out of the carriage. The note had arrived from Sooyoung not an hour before, hinting at information that Changmin had so recently written to Zhou Mi of as well - rumors of another storehouse and how to proceed. He hadn’t forgotten the note Changmin had sent on Kyuhyun’s letterhead, but in the succeeding days it had not been forefront either, especially with Kyuhyun waiting for him at home. Their home.

“Did Sooyoung call for you?” Zhou Mi asked.

“Of a sort. Apparently she agreed he I should be here, since it was my information. Even then she won’t let me in without a human chaperone.” And Changmin scowled as Zhou Mi smirked. “Yes, I know, I should feel fortunate that I’m allowed in at all.”

“When your whole life is built around the protection of your family and others from perceived threats, it’s hard to change even for the trustworthy.”

“Did no one teach you to be afraid?”

“It would be arrogant if I said no. I had a good teacher to get any fear out of me,” Zhou Mi said.

Changmin laughed at the thought of Kyuhyun being a teacher of anything, and fell into step just behind Zhou Mi’s elbow.

Sooyoung rose to greet them, and Zhou Mi did not offer a hand, inclining his head in respect instead.

“You are welcome, gentlemen. This is the second time I have had a vampire in this home. It is proof of how urgent these matters are. Please, sit.”

They did, taking chairs near each other facing Sooyoung.

“Has there been no more information from the paperwork and books in the storehouse?” Zhou Mi asked.

“Some. Names. The humans we captured there have been more forthcoming. It is like piecing together a puzzle we have very little knowledge of. But speaking of that,” Sooyoung said. “How are you? To put down your experiences would be worthwhile for us.”

Zhou Mi did not mind to say, though it was not easy to contemplate at times. “The nightmares are surely the worst part. The weakness, that was a side effect, but the nightmares and terrors I had, it is no wonder the patients scream. I likely did as well, though I don’t remember it so much. But the images stay vivid with me, and I do still wake in terror even after the Euphoria is cleared from me.”

Sooyoung nodded, her face thoughtful. “I wish it wasn’t so. It’s a horrible side-effect that there seems to be no cure for. Still, for as ill as you were, you look well.”

“Thank you. I am much improved. Mostly thanks to Changmin.”

He nodded at Changmin and received a half smile in return.

“Yes, I’ve heard how he helped you. Though surely some of that is related to your return to your… To Kyuhyun.”

He appreciated her use of Kyuhyun’s name instead of the instinctual “vampire.” Though calling Kyuhyun his would never cease to amuse him.

“We are both very pleased to be together again,” Zhou Mi acknowledged. Though that was quite an understatement. “And he has certainly helped my recovery as well.”

Due to the teeth, in a very special way, though it was not something Zhou Mi could speak of to Sooyoung. Changmin’s lips curved a bit, likely from their shared secret of that particular knowledge. He wasn’t sure how Changmin would’ve stopped him if he’d decided to share the secret, but Zhou Mi was certain it wouldn’t have been pretty.

“I note he didn’t join you here this evening.”

“He had pressing business to attend to,” Zhou Mi said.

If pressing business was seeing that his home was ready for Zhou Mi’s belongings to be moved into, and prepared for a growing child, then yes. They had a slim few days with which to prepare before going to fetch Jinyong and they both intended for the house to be ready by their return. When Zhou Mi had asked Kyuhyun whether Zhou Mi should go alone to fetch Jinyong, Kyuhyun had baldly laughed at him. Apparently Zhou Mi would not get that far alone, and Zhou Mi had no objections to it. When Zhou Mi had left, Kyuhyun had been sorting through estimates from carpenters and muttering about hiring a cook.

They each had their strengths and Kyuhyun was clearly in the midst of one of his. Zhou Mi hadn’t been sad to leave Kyuhyun to it, and for Kyuhyun there would have been no benefit to having Zhou Mi there. That pleased him because they were each their own man and unwilling to give that up.

“So to the storehouse then,” Sooyoung said.

“It is a long game,” Changmin said. “I have two vampires, one of which has… We’ll say, questionable connections. No solid leads, but there’s a possibility of him working his way toward that end. Driving them further underground will hurt them, and us, but it also buys us time.”

“If we get several leaders,” Zhou Mi mused. “There’s a possibility to fragment it. We’ve been receiving angry and dismayed responses from at least half a dozen vampires who’ve pledged to stop the use of their blood and to spread awareness for vampires being bled by force. If the supply dries up, that too will be an advance.”

Sooyoung nodded, rising and skirting her desk. In her hand, a piece of paper that was offered to Zhou Mi. He unfolded it, curious, mouth parting as he read the numbers on it and looked up at her.

“For bribes, for nurses, for payment of vampires helping to cure diseases,” Sooyoung said. “Your Organization is not set up to fight, but you fight a different front. The Choi family can no longer ignore the evils outside of the punishment of rogue vampires. We’ll advance together, equally.”

Zhou Mi stood and held out his hand, as solemnly as he could to her. She took it, and they shook on it, a silent agreement.

“You’ll always know what we know,” Zhou Mi pledged. “I have not been scared from helping, but for the sake of my…family, I am going to focus on recovery efforts with the Organization.”

Sooyoung nodded, smiling. “Yes, I understand.”

“And you have the support of many vampires as well,” Changmin said, but he made no gesture to reach out. He likely still remembered the slap.

“You should be liaison,” Sooyoung said to Changmin, and surprised both of them. “A vampire’s insight could be useful, and you have a connection to Zhou Mi already. You can do what he cannot.”

It was the truth, and though Changmin had been dragged into it unwillingly, he gave a short nod. “I can do that.”

When they were finished with the logistics of their information sharing, Changmin was the first out the door, and he turned to Zhou Mi on the sidewalk.

“Is Kyuhyun still angry with me?”

“That you should ask him yourself,” Zhou Mi said, unwilling to stand between two people who’d known each other for longer than he’d been alive. Though still, it wasn’t in him to leave Changmin totally in the dark. “We will soon be going to the country to fetch Jinyong. When we return, you should call on him.”

There was anger, hurt, betrayal. But some of that could be soothed. A new footing found, perhaps.

And Zhou Mi held out his hand and shook Changmin’s hand on that as well.

***

The journey to Changmin’s country home was long and tiring, the days trapped in the carriage in perpetual motion - and in perpetual dark. Kyuhyun could close himself up so that Zhou Mi could get a little light to read but at night there was little enough relief from it but for the moon that wasn’t often eager to assist them. It was good that they liked each other, though that much time together could’ve been a strain on anyone. When he voiced that aloud, he got muffled snorts against his neck. They did not even bother to stop along the way, the drivers swapping shifts and changing horses as they could. Once they were in motion, he wanted nothing to delay them. The only time they truly stopped was in the town nearest Changmin’s country home, waiting for the sun to fall so that Kyuhyun would be awake for their arrival.

“I am going to be glad not to be in a moving conveyance,” Kyuhyun muttered, and Zhou Mi kissed his temple. They would take it much slower on their return trip, having two carriages and Jinyong to think of.

“Will the world feel like it’s still moving when we stop?” Zhou Mi asked, teasing.

“You’re lucky I sleep well no matter what. We’ll have our own bed when we arrive.”

Zhou Mi, for one, was looking forward to it.

But not more than he was looking forward to seeing Jinyong. A letter had preceded them, so Victoria to prepare Jinyong for their arrival. It was upheaval enough, but as the carriage made its way up the long driveway, Kyuhyun squeezed Zhou Mi’s arm.

“I’m going to let you go in first,” Kyuhyun said.

And when Zhou Mi opened his mouth to protest, Kyuhyun shook his head. “We don’t know if his fear of vampires lingers, and I would rather not taint his first happiness of seeing you. I’ll wait by the door for when you think he’s ready.”

It was obvious it was something that Kyuhyun had been thinking of, so Zhou Mi didn’t argue. He didn’t offer up any pretty sentiments, either, because he knew he could not promise that Jinyong would lose his fear of vampires - of Kyuhyun in particular. But there was time, and there was love, and they had enough of both, he thought as he stroked the soft toy he balanced on his leg. Jinyong had good, happy memories of Kyuhyun, and Zhou Mi was counting on those and Jinyong’s letters. Remembering Jinyong’s concern at Kyuhyun being hurt, that had him grasping Kyuhyun’s hand. He would believe for the both of them.

And even with the stretching he had done before, he was stiff climbing down out of the carriage. Kyuhyun was at his heels, hand on Zhou Mi’s back as they swept up the front entrance and were greeted by the staff.

“Jinyong and Victoria?” Zhou Mi asked.

“This way, sir.”

“Go,” Kyuhyun whispered to him.

And Zhou Mi’s eyes were all for Jinyong when he walked into the room he was led to. Jinyong sat at a low table, tongue between his teeth as he scribbled furiously on paper laid out in front of him. Victoria saw him first, her hand on Jinyong’s shoulder.

Zhou Mi’s heart clutched when Jinyong gasped, all but leaping out of the chair and racing toward him. But he stopped several steps away, staring up at Zhou Mi as though he wasn’t real. Zhou Mi smiled, crouching and holding out something so very familiar to both of them.

“I brought the bear,” Zhou Mi said, holding out the bear Jinyong had left with him before going into the country. “I kept him safe for you.”

“Zhou Mi,” Jinyong sobbed, and threw himself into Zhou Mi’s arms. Zhou Mi’s eyes closed, gripping Jinyong as tight as he dared and trying to swallow the tears that threatened to choke him.

“Oh my sweet boy,” Zhou Mi crooned, rocking Jinyong back and forth. “I’m so sorry it took so long. But I will do everything I can to make sure we stay together now.”

“I can stay with you?” Jinyong wavered.

“Yes. This time we’ll be safe together.”

Jinyong pulled back and they grinned at each other, a bit damp in the eye, both of them. Zhou Mi stroked Jinyong’s soft hair and was so glad he hadn’t delayed. Time was so fleeting, and too precious. A thought seemed to occur to Jinyong, clutching the bear up to his neck.

“Kyuhyun?” Jinyong asked, staring at Zhou Mi with wet, worried eyes.

“He’s here,” Zhou Mi said, and his voice nearly cracked to say it. “Kyuhyun?”

Zhou Mi turned to look over his shoulder, and Jinyong looked with him, gasping again as Kyuhyun came out from behind the door and crouched beside Zhou Mi. He waited, wondering how Jinyong would respond.

“Zhou Mi’s letters before said you were going away,” Jinyong said. And even if the last letter had said differently, Zhou Mi could understand why Jinyong worried.

“Not anymore,” Kyuhyun said, stopping just short of extending his hand. “We’ve come to take you home, to my home. All three of us will stay there. And your nanny.”

Zhou Mi could feel the trembles start under his hand on Jinyong’s back. But what happened next surprised even him: when Jinyong lunged for Kyuhyun’s neck and hugged him, sending him sprawling on his backside.

And Kyuhyun looked to him, eyes wide and startled as though he wondered what he was supposed to do with the child mewling into his shoulder.

“Hug him,” Zhou Mi breathed, steadying Kyuhyun.

And it started with an awkward pat to Jinyong’s back, but Kyuhyun did. Jinyong wasn’t afraid, wasn’t thinking Kyuhyun would bite him. Instead of wallowing in that relief, Zhou Mi did what he wanted to do and enfolded them both, pressing a kiss against Jinyong’s hair.

“We’re finally together,” Zhou Mi said, and Jinyong nodded vigorously. “We’ll stay here a few days and then travel back together to Kyuhyun’s— to _our_ home.”

Just sitting there, holding Jinyong gave Zhou Mi a chance to look up, to greet Victoria with a wave at least. She had done so well looking after Jinyong, and Jinyong looked so strong, so much better than he had when he had left. He could have sat there forever, cradling both Jinyong and Kyuhyun close, but Jinyong, of the three of them, had much more energy.

“I can show you my books!” Jinyong said with excitement, standing and nearly knocking Zhou Mi in the head. He raced for the table where various things were stacked. “I have new clothes. I have a little sailboat for my bath, too!”

Zhou Mi and Kyuhyun both made appropriately impressed noises, leaning in against each other.

“And we can play with my puppy,” Jinyong said, making a great pile of the books in front of him.

Kyuhyun turned his head and Zhou Mi blinked at him.

“He has a puppy?”

“Did I not tell you?” Zhou Mi asked cautiously. “It’s small, or so Victoria wrote.”

Zhou Mi might have been worried but for the brief but intense elbow battle that they waged.

“You’ll be in charge of any messes,” Kyuhyun said, resigned to the point where he might as well have been assigning himself to death.

But Zhou Mi still kissed his cheek, pleased as Kyuhyun leaned into him again.

***

Letting Jinyong sleep in their bed while at Changmin’s country home was an indulgence, not something intended to create a habit. The first night, at least, Jinyong would get to be assured that they would not sneak off in the middle of the night and leave him. Kyuhyun accepted the addition with grace, helped by the fact they’d found a discreet location for Kyuhyun to feed before Jinyong was ready to sleep. It was Jinyong’s time to heal even more than they already had. Once back in the city, Jinyong would have his own room, and would be secure in knowing he belonged there.

And there was a fourth occupant of the room.

“No dog on the bed,” Kyuhyun said, heading that off immediately. “Only people.”

“He sleeps on my bed,” Jinyong protested. “He’ll get lonely.”

Kyuhyun and Jinyong stared at each other, and Zhou Mi stayed silent. He wasn’t going to get into the middle of that.

“Would you rather sleep in your bed then?” Kyuhyun asked.

Jinyong thought a moment. “No?”

“Then the dog will manage on the floor tonight,” Kyuhyun said, and leveraged himself out of bed. “I’ll make him a nest out of my shirt.”

Jinyong giggled against Zhou Mi’s arm. “Dogs don’t sleep in nests.”

“Puppies do,” Zhou Mi said. “Sometimes little boys.”

Zhou Mi was touched that Kyuhyun was making a place for the pup to sleep, and amused at his orders for the dog to stay there. Jinyong was squeezing his fingers, waiting for Kyuhyun to get back in bed so they could sleep. Or wrestle, he wasn’t sure, since it seemed that Kyuhyun and Jinyong were just as prone to that as Jinyong and his puppy were.

“The dog just peed on my leg,” Kyuhyun said, sounding very resigned.

There was nothing for Zhou Mi to do but hug Jinyong and laugh.

But when Jinyong was asleep, and Kyuhyun was back in bed, Zhou Mi reached for him. Even with a child sprawled between them, he did not accept that distance. Kyuhyun nipped the knuckles on Zhou Mi’s extended hand first, before resting his face against it. Kyuhyun read by the light and Zhou Mi napped with Jinyong against him, tired from the journey. Jinyong was a restless sleeper and Kyuhyun was not. Zhou Mi woke at one point to find both of Jinyong’s legs over Kyuhyun’s side, his head on Zhou Mi’s ribs. It took a little straightening but Jinyong was still fast asleep, and Zhou Mi chuckled as he got some more well-deserved rest.

***

Zhou Mi wasn’t sure who was more pleased to be back in town, Kyuhyun or Jinyong. Jinyong and the puppy made no delay in getting acquainted with every room and corner. Though, Kyuhyun had taken Jinyong’s hand and given him the tour including the areas he was supposed to keep out of. Zhou Mi had stayed back and heard a number of, “And Zhou Mi says so, too,” as though Kyuhyun was using him as backup. It made him laugh and snuggle Jinyong’s pup, who was still learning where not to relieve himself to Kyuhyun’s long-suffering sighs.

But there was so much more to being back than that. Even with Sooyoung and the Choi family’s significant contribution, money would always be needed to fund care. Their first night back alone Zhou Mi spent hours poring over his incoming letters and writing responses until Kyuhyun had tickled him out of his chair for a well-deserved bite and rest.

His desk was back, facing Kyuhyun’s in the library. That was the most significant thing to him, more so even than his clothes in Kyuhyun’s room, the new cook, and Jinyong’s new school/playroom. It was Kyuhyun’s way of keeping him close, in a different way than it had been at the start. The desk had been there because Kyuhyun had wanted to make sure Zhou Mi honored his agreement, and to keep an eye on him for safety. Or maybe, just to keep an eye on him. It was ease, familiarity, being able to look up and share a joke, a sly look, a wink. Part of their downfall to start with, not that he was counting it against them.

“We should start interviewing tutors for Jinyong,” Kyuhyun said, leaning back into his office chair and mussing up his already-messy hair from just that same action of his hand. “Victoria is more than qualified to continue his education, but in some areas it should be expanded.”

Zhou Mi thought on that a moment, nodding. They’d already discussed and dismissed the idea of Jinyong going to a local school, for his own safety.

“Agreed. There’s another man in the Organization with a boy about Jinyong’s age, so I’ll be able to set up a time for them to get together and play. Perhaps he’ll also have some suggestions on tutors.”

There were so many things in motion, like the most healthy of the Euphoria patients being moved into Zhou Mi’s former home, and the move of Jinyong’s mother and siblings into a new home in the sheep wards. With Jinyong’s father in custody, there had been no one to help, and even if Jinyong’s mother had not sold him, he had wanted there to be no hard choices for her regarding herself and her children. Jinyong had been given the choice, would always have the choice between his family or Zhou Mi, but he would see Jinyong’s siblings safe as well, and fed. Without a man to drink and gamble away the funds, Zhou Mi suspected that the family would be much better off in all ways.

Zhou Mi wanted Jinyong to know he was secure in his place, but also to know that in coming to live with Zhou Mi, his family hadn’t been abandoned. In the move, they’d learned Jinyong’s birthday, so the preparations were already underway on that day to pack up food, books, and toys, and visit Jinyong’s siblings. Jinyong’s face had fairly shined with it, so secure on Kyuhyun’s lap as they wrote out the list together.

“What sweet thing are you thinking about now?” Kyuhyun asked, having gotten up to stand beside him. It made Zhou Mi stand as well.

“So obvious?” Zhou Mi wondered, and Kyuhyun’s eyebrows rose as though to tell him so. “Jinyong’s birthday. How sweet he is.”

“He is,” Kyuhyun agreed. “And is your hand about done for the evening?”

Never completely done, as well they both knew.

“I sent off a message to Changmin about our progress so he can pass it along to Sooyoung.”

Kyuhyun laughed, delighted. “Sometimes I wonder if he thinks she hit him with some kind of thrall of her own to get him to agree to all of this. But it’s good for him, keeps him out of trouble.”

Changmin showing up with a thick encyclopedia of sharks for Jinyong had been more likely to soften Zhou Mi’s heart than Kyuhyun’s, but there was a cautious kind of truce there. Maybe it was stubbornness keeping them from fully reconciling more than anything, but he was going to support Kyuhyun through it - especially since he knew it had no bearing on Kyuhyun’s feelings for Zhou Mi.

He smoothed down Kyuhyun’s hair, tweaked at the loose collar with no neck cloth whatsoever. Love suited Kyuhyun, content on every feature. His vampire. And he nearly chuckled to himself to think it.

“Time for bed, now that you’ve conquered the city by pen alone,” Kyuhyun murmured.

Zhou Mi kissed Kyuhyun’s neck, and breathed, content. They both knew it wasn’t just with a pen.

And not alone.

***

***


End file.
